Mahindra Racing prepares for fourth new circuit of season 9

The team will follow on from a scorching hot double-header event in Jakarta just over two weeks ago where Roberto Merhi joined the team for the first time, racing alongside Lucas Di Grassi. After a positive debut weekend for the Spaniard, he will return to the team once again in Portland, racing the #8 Mahindra M9Electro alongside Lucas in the #11.

The race is being held at the 3.166km Portland International Raceway, which commonly hosts IndyCar, NASCAR and sports car races. The young and passionate motorsport fanbase in the city should result in packed grandstands, as the series continues to pique interest in the United States. A short, quick track, the Portland International Raceway is set to bring the action, in particular during qualifying.

Preparing for his second event with the team, Roberto Merhi said: “I am very happy to continue with the team for the Portland race – my second in Formula E. It’s going to be a different scenario for me in Portland than in Jakarta as it will be a new track for everyone, not just me. I think the characteristics of the Portland track are more suited to me and something I am more used to, so I’m looking forward to driving the Formula E car round there. Hopefully I can adapt to the car and circuit quickly so we can get a good result. Our target is to improve throughout the weekend and to take what we learned from Jakarta. We have some good ideas to try and hopefully we can make a step forward. With such a long straight it is going to be challenging and a lot of fun.”

Looking to improve on the Jakarta weekend, Lucas Di Grassi said: “Portland will be the fastest track of the season, with very long straights and highspeed corners – a bit like an extreme version of Valencia, so we expect the races to have a lot of overtaking and lead changes. I think the drivers will also be making the most of the slipstream too. It is very important for us to go racing in the US and I’m very happy to be going to Portland. I’m definitely looking forward to the race.”

Mahindra Racing CEO, Frederic Bertrand, said: “I’m looking forward to visiting another new track on the Formula E calendar. Each of the new races we have had in Season 9 have been fantastic, so I hope Portland is also another great event. For the team, we need to keep pushing to improve on where we have been this season. I am pleased to see the work going into each weekend from the team. The aim this weekend is for Lucas to qualify in a better position and then to keep climbing through the field during the race, like he has been doing all season. For Roberto, his aim is to close the gap to Lucas and to challenge him. The best way for him to do this is to have a clean one lap performance and then show his improvements on energy management during the race. I’m looking forward to the Portland race already!”

The Southwire Portland E-Prix begins at 17:00 local time on Saturday 24^th June (Sunday 01:00 BST, 05:30 IST).

Mahindra Racing has a strong set of partners, including Official Powertrain Partner ZF and e-fluids partner Shell. Maurice Lacroix, the luxury Swiss watchmaker, continues as the Official Timekeeper.