It was Timmy Hansen and Catie Munnings who powered to victory in a battle intensive round. The first ever race in Greenland saw plenty of drama including for the championship leaders.
In the first 5 car final it was RXR and X44 who pulled clear at the start. Acciona Sainz dropped to last as Andretti bounced into 3rd place. With the leaders squabbling Andretti moved into first. The top 3 all used their hyperdrive simultaneously and went 3 wide down the next straight. Coming into the braking zone JBXE tried to dive up the inside from 4th place. Instead it was X44 who took the lead around the outside. In the narrow section the cars remained in order, though Sebastien Loeb pulled out a large lead. Fourth place Kevin Hansen dropped back after a small mistake going back on the flat section giving Andretti United some breathing space.
Loeb had pulled a 18 second lead into the change over section as Catie Munnings and Molly Taylor battled for 2nd. Kevin Hansen closed in with Laia Sanz a further 17 back. However, it was the leader who suffered a puncture requiring a tyre change during the driver swap.
Timmy Hansen for Andretti took the lead from RXR and JBXE. X44 just got out ahead of Carlos Sainz some 18 seconds behind the top 3. Positions remained static for the first half of the lap before the battling recommenced out front.
Johan Kristofferson tried to get the cutback on Timmy Hansen out of the hairpin and the rallycross racers ran side by side down the next straight. A massive jump for Kristofferson broke the car and the car stopped. He was able to restart but dropped to last after losing a minute.
This gave Timmy a 5 second gap over Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky with Sainz taking the final podium spot. Andretti United became the second team to win an Extreme E round with double winners RXR in 5th and last place.
Semi-Final 1
Rain was falling ahead of the semi-finals. X44 and Veloce Racing made best starts. However, X44 dropped back to 3rd on the run to turn 1. All 3 teams took the hyperdrive straight away and Sainz overtook for the lead. In the lake section Veloce made a mistake and held up X44. Sainz made it to drive change first followed by Veloce and X44 with gaps extending before the end of lap 1.
On lap 2 Loeb made a great pass in the lake section to get into 2nd. The pair then closed quickly on leader Sanz going into the final part of the track. Loeb used his hyperdrive to pass for first. Sanz had tried to defend with her hyperdrive but couldn’t repass.
With 1 corner to go, last place Sarrazin attempted an audacious move on the inside of the rock garden. Flat out over the biggest rocks he took the lead but within moments his steering broke. He dragged his car to the finish line a couple of hundred metres ahead but dropped down to last and was eliminated from the weekend.
Semi-Final 2
RXR and Abt Cupra went side-by-side on the run to turn 1 but Andretti dived up the inside to take the lead. Kristofferson was second but immediately used his hyperdrive to head the pack into the narrow section. A small mistake by RXR saw Kristofferson knock down a waypoint flag, coping a 10 second penalty in the process.
Timmy Hansen then moved into first and extended his gap by using his hyperdrive. He looked set to lead into the change over before Kristofferson braked latest to retake the lead.
Lap 2 was more processional with RXR holding onto their lead for the first half of the lap. Soon Munnings dived past and was able to win the race. ABT Cupra had suffered an issue and couldn’t close on the leaders. By being over 10 seconds behind RXR they were knocked out.
Crazy Race
Off the start JBXE took the lead from Chip Ganassi and Xite Racing. Immediately after the start JBXE were handed a 30 second penalty for using an extra tyre in the event. Due to the number of punctures they had received in Greenland they had been forced into fitting a 7th tyre.
Behind, Xite dived up the inside of Chip Ganassi to take 2nd on the road, though 1st including the overhanging penalty. Pressue from behind immediately evaporated as Sarah Price suffered a steering failure moments later putting them out of the weekend. After the pitstop Xite took the lead while JBXE took their 30 second penalty.
Kevin Hansen set about closing in and by the end of the lap was within striking distance. When only 3 seconds back Xite suffered a car failure gifting Hansen the lead and only transfer spot from the race. Less than 45 seconds later he crossed the line to secure the victory. Bennett got moving again but immediately stopped and retired the car for good.
In the championship Johan Kristofferson and Molly Taylor still lead for Rosberg X Racing on 93. Just 9 back are Team X44 while Timmy Hansen and Catie Munnings have leaped into 3rd on 71. The next round takes place in Sardinia for the Island X-Prix. The season finale location has yet to be released after the South American races were cancelled earlier in the year.
Feature Image Credit: Extreme E
