- Simon Evans claims first eTROPHY victory of season two in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
- Reigning champion Sérgio Jimenez holds off Alice Powell who take second and third respectively in the all‑electric touring car series
- PRO‑AM winner Zhang Yaqi finishes fourth overall
- VIP driver Abbie Eaton finishes fifth
- Fellow VIP driver Reema Juffali made history by becoming the first Saudi Arabian woman to race within the Kingdom
- Racing continues on Saturday 23 November 2019 with round two of the Jaguar I‑PACE eTROPHY in Diriyah
Simon Evans has won the opening race of season two of the Jaguar I‑PACE eTROPHY at the Diriyah E‑Prix, in the historic UNESCO site. After starting on pole, he dominated the all‑electric race leading from lights to the chequered flag. Following a competitive qualifying session which saw female drivers Abbie Eaton and Alice Powell, Jaguar Ran Racing eTROPHY Team Germany deliver impressive performances to challenge for podium positions. Brazilian Sérgio Jimenez started and finished in second to get his season off to a positive start.
It’s been amazing to come back here to Saudi Arabia and win again like I did last year. This was a particularly good race as I controlled it from the start, so I’m really happy with the result. There were other drivers who were very fast too though so I know there are no guarantees that I’ll be as successful tomorrow ‑ but I’ll definitely be trying.
Simon Evans
Team Asia New Zealand
Alice Powell and Sérgio Jimenez jostled throughout the race, with Alice taking the opportunity to overtake with 17 minutes left on the clock. Jimenez retaliated with the pair making slight contact, this allowed the Brazilian to regain his second position. With a fastest lap time of 1:32.054, Alice’s race delivered a well‑deserved a podium finish.
Abbie Eaton put in a strong debut performance in the Jaguar I‑PACE racecar and held off advances from Zhang Yaqi for a large proportion of the race, especially through turns 18 and 19 which are the best overtaking opportunities on the Diriyah circuit. Zhang finished first in the PRO‑AM category after he took his opportunity to pass the VIP driver with five minutes remaining when Eaton went wide.
The race went really well and I’m incredibly happy that I have been able to win the PRO‑AM category. I was trying to put pressure on Abbie and I think she made a mistake which allowed me to overtake her. This season I’d really like to chase the PRO drivers but I need to try to look after my car at the same time. In qualifying – I scraped the wall in the same place twice causing some damage.
Yaqi Zhang
Jaguar China Racing
Local Saudi Arabian driver and fellow female VIP driver, Reema Juffali made history today by becoming the first Saudi Arabian woman to race within the Kingdom.
Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY Season Two, Diriyah E-Prix, Round One Qualifying
Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY Season Two, Diriyah E-Prix, Round One Qualifying
Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY Season Two, Diriyah E-Prix, Round One Qualifying
It’s been an incredible day creating history in the Jaguar I‑PACE eTROPHY race series. I loved being out on track in my home country for the first time and battling against the competition has been really exciting. I can’t believe it, it’s amazing! I’m looking forward to refining my ATTACK MODE strategy ahead of tomorrow’s race and really can’t wait to get back on track.
Reema Juffali
Jaguar VIP Driver in Diriyah
Season two has got off to an incredible start. The racing was close with some good, clean passes. The whole team are pleased with the introduction of ATTACK MODE, it spiced up the racing and had us on the edge of our seats right up to the final lap. Congratulations to Simon Evans for winning the first race of season two
Mark Turner
Jaguar I‑PACE eTROPHY Series Manager
SIMON EVANS LEADS FROM POLE TO FLAG IN THE OPENING ROUND OF SEASON TWO
The final race results are:
|
Position |
Driver |
Nationality |
Team |
Classification |
|
1 |
Simon Evans |
NZL |
Team Asia New Zealand |
PRO |
|
2 |
Sérgio Jiminez |
BRA |
ZEG iCarros Jaguar Brazil |
PRO |
|
3 |
Alice Powell |
GBR |
Jaguar Ran Racing eTROPHY Team Germany |
PRO |
|
4 |
Zhang Yaqi |
CHN |
Jaguar China Racing |
PRO AM |
|
5 |
Abbie Eaton |
GBR |
Jaguar VIP car |
Guest |
|
6 |
Fahad Algosaibi |
SAU |
Saudi Racing |
PRO AM |
|
7 |
Chao Sun |
CHN |
Jaguar China Racing |
PRO AM |
|
8 |
Mário Haberfeld |
BRZ |
ZEG iCarros Jaguar Brazil |
PRO |
|
9 |
Mashhur Bal Hejaila |
SAU |
Saudi Racing |
PRO AM |
|
10 |
Reema Juffali |
SAU |
Jaguar VIP car |
Guest |
The Jaguar I‑PACE eTROPHY returns for round two tomorrow, Saturday 23 November at 13:05 local time as the official support race to the ABB FIA Formula E Championship.
