Johan Kristofferson and Molly Taylor successfully held onto their championship lead in Dorset to become the inaugural Extreme E champions. Team X44 drew level on points after winning the final and scoring 5 bonus points for the traction challenge.
Qualifying was won once again by Sebastien Loeb and Cristina Gutiérrez for Team X44. The team topped both qualifying sessions in an impressive run that means they won qualifying at every round this season. With Rosberg X Racing finishing in second they knew they would only need a 4th place finish in the final to secure the title. Acciona Sainz were 3rd tied on points with second but lost out on countback. 4th went to Abt Cupra, their worst Saturday performance since the season opener. JBXE and Veloce Racing were the other 2 teams to make the semi-final. Andretti United suffered a crash at the end of Q2 with Timmy Hansen hitting a tree. It meant they dropped into the Crazy Race alongside Chip Ganassi Racing and Xite Energy Racing.
Semi-Finals
The semi-finals saw Team X44 and JBXE beat Veloce Racing to reach the Final. Loeb also set the best time in the super sector with it remaining unbeaten through the remainder of the event. This gave them 5 crucial points in the battle for the title.
RXR and Acciona Sainz also made it through to the final after an issue for Abt Cupra saw them drop 2 minutes behind at the driver changeover. This gave a tense 2 way battle for the championship between Nico Rosberg’s RXR and Lewis Hamilton’s Team X44.
Andretti United were the last team to advance to the final. Catie Munnings held off a last lap challenge from Sara Price to prevent Chip Ganassi making the last transfer spot. Earlier in the run Kyle LeDuc had put an amazing around the outside pass on Oliver Bennett to give his teammate a chance to go for the win.
Image Credit: Extreme E
Final
The final saw Gutiérrez take the lead immediately with Taylor close behind. Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky was third but suffered a huge moment early in the lap. On 2 wheels and sideways the Swedish racer straighten the car and held off Catie Munnings from taking the position. Laia Sanz was at the back, slowed with an issue.
Both Åhlin-Kottulinsky and Munnings quickly closed up to the back of Taylor and passed the Australian driver in quick succession. After the race Taylor admitted to taking a cautious approach having seen a number of technical failures throughout the season.
At the end of the second lap the cars pitted the change driver. At the pit entrance Munnings made contact and spun. She was forced to reverse but held onto her position. When she pulled into her pit box she made contact with the separating barrier.
The final lap saw no wheel to wheel racing with field more spread out. It meant Kristofferson had to bring the car home 4th to secure the team’s championship. Loeb crossed the line first to secure the team’s first win. However, it was Rosberg X Racing that won the championship tied on points. Their title confirmed on countback with 3 wins to Team X44’s 1. JBXE finished 2nd ahead of Andretti United even after they copped a 5 second penalty for hitting the barrier in the changeover zone.
Points
Rosberg X Racing and Team X44 both finished with 155 points with RXR taking the title. JBXE were 3rd just ahead of Andretti United on 119 and 117 respectively. Abt Cupra tied with Acciona Sanz but won on countback thanks to a 2nd place in Sardinia. Veloce were in 7th in their first ever real life racing season. Chip Ganassi who were once thought of as a championship contender finished in 8th without a podium. Xite Energy propped up the bottom of the table having not made the final all year.
The driver’s title also went to Kristofferson and Taylor, each on 133 after taking into account their dropped score. Loeb and Gutiérrez were 2nd while Timmy Hansen and Munnings leapt up ahead of JBXE pairing Kevin Hansen and Åhlin-Kottulinsky. Sanz and Carlos Sainz were 5th.
Feature Image Credit: Extreme E
