Thursday, October 10, 2024

X44 triumphs in Hydro X Prix 1 after Andretti penalty

After falling short of the podium in both Desert X Prix races to begin their Extreme E championship defence, X44 was on the top step of the first Hydro X Prix Saturday.

Andretti XE led the way in the Grand Final for Race #1, but a switch bay violation in which Timmy Hansen traded off with Catie Munnings before the latter departed too early resulted in a fifteen-second penalty. With Andretti beating X44 to the finish by six seconds, the time docked was enough for X44 to leapfrog them for the win.

Even if circumstantial due to the infraction, Cristina Gutiérrez still enjoys her third career Extreme E win while Fraser McConnell notches his first.

“It just goes to show that prioritising opportunity and inclusivity doesn’t have to come at the cost of performance, and we’re proud to be showing what’s possible here in Extreme E,” said McConnell. “We didn’t have the best starting position—second from the outside—so I knew I was going to have to do something a little risky to get in front which I managed. I went a little wide and they got the better run, but that’s racing. We were able to stay close enough to capitalise on their penalty. A win is always a win and very happy to do this one for X44.”

Carl Cox Motorsport scored their maiden podium in just their second race weekend, taking advantage of Ganassi driver RJ Anderson‘s flat tyre. Rosberg X Racing failed to finish after Johan Kristoffersson rolled the car.

ACCIONA | Sainz XE and Veloce Racing, both top two in the championship, were relegated to the Redemption Race after struggling in their heats, but still finished in those same positions to salvage some points. Veloce had led practice on Friday and hopes to regain their momentum on Sunday.

The first round of qualifying was cancelled due to low-lying fog in the area.

Grand Final results

Finish Number Team Total Time Driver #1 Driver #2
1 44 X44 Vida Carbon Racing 10:12.670 Fraser McConnell Cristina Gutiérrez
2 23 Andretti ALTAWKILAT Extreme E 10:21.656* Timmy Hansen Catie Munnings
3 8 Carl Cox Motorsport 10:51.647 Christine GZ Timo Scheider
4 99 GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing 11:14.386 RJ Anderson Amanda Sorensen
5 6 Rosberg X Racing DNF Johan Kristoffersson Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky
* – Received a penalty

Redemption Race results

Finish Number Team Total Time Driver #1 Driver #2
1 55 ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team 9:49.303 Mattias Ekström Laia Sanz
2 5 Veloce Racing 9:52.953 Kevin Hansen Molly Taylor
3 58 NEOM McLaren XE 10:05.503 Emma Gilmour Tanner Foust
4 22 JBXE 10:22.082 Andreas Bakkerud Hedda Hosås
5 125 ABT CUPRA XE DNS Nasser Al-Attiyah Klara Andersson

Qualifying results

Heat #1

Finish Number Team Driver #1 Driver #2
1 44 X44 Vida Carbon Racing Cristina Gutiérrez Fraser McConnell
2 99 GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing Amanda Sorensen RJ Anderson
3 23 Andretti ALTAWKILAT Extreme E Catie Munnings Timmy Hansen
4 55 ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team Laia Sanz Mattias Ekström
5 22 JBXE Hedda Hosås Andreas Bakkerud

Heat #2

Finish Number Team Driver #1 Driver #2
1 6 Rosberg X Racing Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky Johan Kristoffersson
2 8 Carl Cox Motorsport Timo Scheider Christine GZ
3 58 NEOM McLaren XE* Tanner Foust Emma Gilmour
4 5 Veloce Racing † Molly Taylor Kevin Hansen
5 125 ABT CUPRA XE † Klara Andersson Nasser Al-Attiyah
† – Did not finish
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