• 29 January 2022
  • News

PRACTICE PACE, TWO NEW DUELS AND POINTS ON THE BOARD

27-29 January 2022, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Round 01

– Alexander Sims: Qualifying – 18 / Race – 14 / Points – 0
– Oliver Rowland: Qualifying – 11 / Race – DNF / Points – 0

After topping both of the Diriyah e-Prix practice sessions, new-signing Oliver finished Group A qualifying within the top-four to progress the M8Electro into the quarter finals. However, that was as far as he would take Mahindra Racing’s #30 in Formula E’s exciting new Duel format. The Brit qualified in 8th for the opening race but started 11th due to a penalty. Alexander, in Group B, missed out on the Duels, recording the 18th fastest time of the two groups combined. A race-ending incident prevented Oliver from moving up the pack but Alexander climbed the #29 M8Electro four places to finish 14th.

Round 02

– Alexander Sims: Qualifying – 9 / Race – DNF / Points – 0
– Oliver Rowland: Qualifying – 10 / Race – 8 / Points –  4

In the same qualifying groups as the previous day, Oliver was first out on track and once again took the #30  M8Electro through to the Duel quarter finals. With a three-place grid penalty applied, he started race two from 10th. Alexander started alongside his new team mate on the fifth row of the grid after qualifying in 9th. When the chequered flag dropped, Oliver scored the team’s first points of 2022 finishing in 8th with Alex touching the wall and retiring whilst running in 11th.

Season 8

– Mahindra Racing: 8th / 4 Points
– Oliver Rowland: 11th / 4 Points
– Alexander Sims: 18th / 0 Points

Season 8 stats

– Wins: 0
– Podiums: 0
– Pole Positions: 0
– Duel Appearances: 2
– Fastest Laps: 0

“I’ll be honest, I struggled to get into a rhythm yesterday – the car balance was difficult in all of the sessions. We took some lessons from Oliver’s car, were able to fine tune things a little, and today went a lot smoother. I was pleased with my performance in race two but I made two small mistakes, which turned out to be race critical. The good thing is we showed a lot of potential, we know what we need to do but we have a lot of work ahead of us in a short space of time.”

#29 Alexander Sims

“While we scored points today, we had the potential to be better. We were very strong in free practice and our pace in the race yesterday was good. We struggled a bit more today but we know what we need to do to come back better in Mexico.”

#30 Oliver Rowland

“Firstly, it’s fantastic that we are welcoming fans back to Formula E this season. Here, at the opening round, the true spirit of the series has returned, and we look forward to racing in front of the crowds around the world in 2022. We also signed an important contract extension with our partners at Tech Mahindra, which will further strengthen our engineering performance as well as give something back to the fans through enhanced racing experiences. On track, we had some highlights at the Diriyah ePrix – we showed pace in practice, progressed to the Duel battles in both qualifying sessions and collected our first points of the year. The potential is all there, however, there’s a lot we need to do before round two in Mexico City in less than two weeks. We will keep our heads down, stay focused and keep pushing.”

Dilbagh Gill

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