Panasonic Jaguar Racing start Formula E Season Six with points & pace
Panasonic Jaguar Racing started season six with a points-scoring race after New Zealand driver, Mitch Evans, secured P10 as the chequered flag fell at the Diriyah E-Prix.
Evans made up six positions and achieved the fastest lap of the E-Prix at the inaugural season six race with a time of 1.13.947 seconds. Evans’ fastest lap won another valuable point for the team and demonstrates the Jaguar I-TYPE 4’s race pace.
Rookie James Calado travelled up the pack from the back of the grid after a tough qualifying session, finishing his debut ABB FIA Formula E by bringing his car home in P16.
James Barclay, Panasonic Jaguar Racing Team Director:
“It was good to get the season underway and be back out on track with some points. We had a difficult qualifying where we couldn’t maximise our potential, especially with Mitch in qualifying group one and catching traffic on his lap. We made good progress in the race to score points and secure fastest lap with Mitch which shows we have good race pace. I’m encouraged that we had one of the quickest cars out there today. It demonstrates the value of our hard work in the off-season on the Jaguar I-TYPE 4’s development and gives us the determination to push for more tomorrow. Our clear objective is to make more out of qualifying and put both cars in a strong position on the grid to secure good points for the team during the Diriyah E-Prix double-header.”
Mitch Evans, #20:
“Not an ideal result but considering the circumstance after qualifying, we can be reasonably satisfied. It was always going to be difficult being in group one for qualifying, especially with the track evolution here. Achieving the fastest lap of the race shows our pace – let’s hope tomorrow’s qualifying goes well and we can get a good result in the race.”
James Calado, #51:
“I made a costly mistake in qualifying while pushing the car to the limit but I’ll learn from it. I started the race in P24 and went in to the race with a clean approach, taking minimal risks to ultimately learn from the race experience itself. I gained a few places and lap times looked promising so I’m quite happy with how the race went, but not the result. I’m looking forward to tomorrow to get back out on track.”
All focus now turns to round two of the Diriyah E-Prix, commencing in less than 24 hours on Saturday 23 November at 15:00 local time (AST).
Source | Photo: Panasonic Jaguar Racing Press