Team X44 survived an early spin in Q1 to top both sessions and won qualifying in the Island X-Prix. On the roughest track of the season so far, many teams suffered issues costing time and causing 3 DNFs across the 2 qualifying sessions.
Sébastien Loeb and Cristina Gutiérrez kept their 100% qualifying record up. They will start on pole for Semi-final 1 and look set to make the 5 car final in Sardinia. On her first lap of the day, Gutiérrez spun after losing the car on some bumps. She then put her head down over the rest of the run before handing over to Loeb. The 9 time World Rally Championship was able to set a blistering time and helped the team win Q1 by 12 seconds. They won Q2 by 17 seconds in part down to new lines taken during the Super Sector.
One of their title rivals and championship leaders, Rosberg X Racing came in second overall after the 2 sessions. They recovered after a poor Q1 which saw Molly Taylor roll the car late in the run. She immediately continued once the wheels hit the ground. It gave them only 6th in Q1 but with 3rd in Q2 after a clean run they jumped up the order. Tied in qualifying with them was ABT Cupra. However, the German team was slower in the Super Sector and ended in 3rd overall.
Acciona Sainz was able to go into 4th place having finished 2nd in Q1. A terrible Q2 slowed Laia Sanz and Carlos Sainz which cost the team 2 minutes. Had they not suffered the power steering issue they could have qualified in second.
3 teams tied on 9 points after qualifying. It was Chip Ganassi who ended in 5th overall thanks to a blistering time in Q2 that was good enough for 2nd. In Q1 it was a suspension failure that stopped the car after Sara Price hit a rock.
Andretti United struggled in Q1 with a power steering failure for the entire run. It forced them down into 7th and last of the finishers. Pushing hard, Timmy Hansen dislocated his shoulder multiple times through the run. 4th place in Q2 helped them jump up the standings. They were given a 10 second penalty for knocking down a flag pole but this did not cost them any positions.
Timmy “When the power steering went in Q1 it was super hard to turn the wheel. A few times my shoulder dislocated. I think when the adrenaline kicks in you don’t feel it so much.”
Second place finishers at the Artic X-Prix, JBXE were down in 7th after qualifying. Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky suffered a partial spin in Q2 which saw Acciona Sainz finish ahead in Q2 by just 2 seconds. Had she not half spun they would have ended qualifying in 4th but instead will have to race in the crazy race.
Alongside them will be Veloce Racing who was 3rd in Q1. However, the steering broke in Q2 stopping the car. Xite Energy Racing suffered the same failure in Q1 and lost a position in Q2 because of a penalty. Oliver Bennett missed 2 gates in a row and were given a 10 second penalty which dropped them 1 position.
Feature Image Credit: Extreme E
