It was a weekend of contrasts for ACCIONA SAINZ at Extreme E’s second race double header in Sardinia. The team dominated on Saturday but failed to make an impression on Sunday after a promising start to Qualifying.
The first race day of the weekend and the run up to it can be described with one word – carnage – particularly for Neom McLaren. The team’s driver Emma Gilmour had one of the worst rolls we’ve seen in this electric SUV race series, which initially caused great consternation throughout the event site. However, while Gilmour was diagnosed with a cracked rib and wasn’t able to continue racing, she otherwise got through the crash, underlining the robustness of the Odyssey 21 car’s construction.
ACCIONA SAINZ then dominated qualifying, winning both its rounds for maximum points. ABT Cupra won Heat 1 and came second in Heat 2, achieving the team’s second Grand Final of the season. Veloce Racing kept its Championship hopes alive with two second places. Rosberg X Racing and Carl Cox Racing secured the other two slots. But McLaren’s car broke down again, failing to finish Qualifying 2, so missed out on a chance for the Grand Final.
McLaren’s woes continued in the Redemption Race, with the Championship replacement car they were now using nudged at the start. This put stand-in driver Tamara Molinaro sideways into some bushes, causing yet another roll. By the evening, McLaren announced that the car was too badly damaged to take part in Sunday’s racing, although Molinaro wasn’t seriously injured, with just an aching shoulder.
The Redemption Race otherwise lived up to its name for Hedda Hosås and Timmy Hansen of Andretti Altawkilat, with the team snatching a well-earned win after mishaps in qualifying. JBXE placed second with No. 99 GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing placing third. Lewis Hamilton’s X44 Vida Carbon Racing failed to finish alongside McLaren.
The Grand Final carried on the chaotic theme, with ACCIONA SAINZ’s Mattias Ekström sneaking the lead after an initially strong start from Carl Cox Motorsport’s Timo Scheider. But Veloce’s Kevin Hansen executed the overtake of the day, using an alternate line to cut in and take Scheider’s second place on a corner. But then a problem with Hansen’s windscreen wipers seriously limited his vision and he came into the switch zone in third.
As Molly Taylor began her two laps, it was clear that the Veloce team hadn’t been able to fix their car’s wipers, and she was soon unable to see forward, veering off into the bushes. Carl Cox Motorsport, having run in second, crashed out late in the race. ABT Cupra XE’s Klara Andersson managed to crawl across the line with a rear wheel dangling at an unusual angle. Somehow, with the team giving her steering instructions based on her GPS location, Molly Taylor managed to claim the third podium spot. Johan Kristofferson limped across the line in fourth with broken steering.
Laia Sanz of ACCIONA SAINZ said: “Today was a perfect day, one of the best we have enjoyed so far in Extreme E. This doesn’t happen very often because everything can happen in this Championship. We want this Championship, and we must keep fighting.” Her teammate Mattias Ekström added: “I think it was a really good day.”
Without McLaren, day two only involved nine teams. Disaster struck again for Veloce in Qualifying 1, Heat 2, and this time, it was more fundamental than a damaged wiper. Taylor looked all set for a solid second place, when a puncture and mechanical failure on the car prevented her from finishing. Taylor, needing a win in Qualifying 2, was also knocked off course immediately. The car crawled to a halt, but Taylor was able to restart and bring it to the switch zone, where Kevin Hansen took over and struggled round the course.
ABT Cupra’s Klara Andersson and Sebastian Loeb ended top of the two rounds, giving them their second Grand Final of the weekend. ACCIONA SAINZ had looked on course to repeat their dominance from Saturday after Laia Sanz pipped Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulsinky to a qualifying win by 0.061 seconds in a dramatic photo finish. But Qualifying 2 saw teammate Ekström grind to a halt, Kevin Hansen struggled past in his broken Veloce to push ACCIONA SAINZ into fourth and into the Redemption Race. This meant the Grand Final teams would be ABT Cupra, No. 99 GMC Hummer EV, X44 Vida Carbon Racing, JBXE and Rosberg X Racing, which equalled ACCIONA SAINZ on qualifying points but edged through thanks a superior Continental Traction Challenge time.
The Redemption Race on Sunday again lived up to its name, with Kevin Hansen managing to grab the lead from the start for Veloce and despite a strong pursuit from Andretti Altawkilat’s Catie Munnings, Molly Taylor brought the win home. Carl Cox Motorsport placed third, while ACCIONA SAINZ could only manage fourth. With no fifth team after McLaren’s absence from Sunday, this meant ACCIONA SAINZ had come first and last on consecutive days.
The Grand Final proved to be an Extreme E classic. After a disappointing season so far and poor Saturday result, X44 Vida Carbon Racing’s Fraser McConnell grabbed the lead from the start, which teammate Cristina Gutiérrez capitalised on to win the race without a challenge. But the remaining places were hotly contested. Having dropped to fourth at the start, RXR’s Johan Kristoffersson managed to take back third from No.99 GMC HUMMER EV Chip Ganassi Racing’s RJ Anderson and then second from World Rally Championship legend Sebastien Loeb of ABT Cupra. This proved to be the subsequent Grand Final podium order, with JBXE’s Andreas Bakkerud failing to finish due to a damaged front wheel.
Cristina Gutiérrez of X44 Vida Carbon Racing said: “We had a tough start to the weekend, but we kept our spirits up and with all the team working together we prepared well for the final.” Her teammate Fraser McConnell added: “So happy to redeem ourselves in Sardinia. Cristina and I had our heads down and drove four strong clean laps in the final.”
With one more double header weekend to go in Chile, there is still everything to race for in the 2023 Extreme E season. Theoretically a team can win a maximum of 56 points across the two remaining events. ACCIONA SAINZ still leads on 139 points, with RXR hot on their tail with 136 points and Veloce in with a chance of glory on 118 points. GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing have a slim possibility on 99 points and X44 Vida Carbon Racing on 87 points could mathematically take the Championship too, although they would need a blinder of a weekend. Either way, it will be an exciting finale in Chile in December that goes right to the wire.