Finally, the Extreme E action officially debuted on European soil. Enel X Island X Prix, in Sardinia, was the main witness of Cristina Gutiérrez and Sebastien Loeb’s talent. Both drivers squeezed the full potential of the X44 to dominate in Friday practice session Saturday qualifying, 1 and 2.
They were at the forefront but the battle was intense. The seven kilometers of track were completed in 11: 53.421 in the free practice, demanding the ODYSSEY 21 at all times. The French X44 driver used different lines on the circuit, which undoubtedly contributed to his good times.
In qualifying, Lewis Hamilton’s team, once again, dominated the circuit as if they had raced there before, stopping the clock at 11: 05.105, with Carlos Sainz and Laia Sanz, from ACCIONA | SAINZ XE TEAM, wit 12.283 seconds gap. Rosberg X Racing, who fights for the Extreme E championship alongside X44, found difficulty with Molly Taylor, who turned the vehicle (as in Greenland) but she domnated the car and follow the track as if nothing had happened.
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Nico Rosberg’s team was sixth after Q1. However, they fought to make a better sesson and finished at third place in Q2 to keep all eyes on X44 for sunday. Molly Taylor delivered a solid lap, but her teammate, Johan Kristoffersson, lost a few seconds followed by a puncture that made it difficult for RXR to fight for first place.
Mattias Ekstrom, Swedish pilot who has just become the first Pure ETCR champion, starred in a spin with his ABT CUPRA XE that complicated the team’s actions, but the lap made by his teammate, Jutta Kleinschmidt, contributed with a good pace to finished at fifth position.
In this way, the cards on the table for Sunday action, where Rosberg X Racing, X44 and Andretti United will fight to take an important step make history and become the first champions in Extreme E history.
Written by | Ronald Ortega
