SACHA FENESTRAZ JOINS JAGUAR RACING AS RESERVE DRIVER

24 February 2021

  • Jaguar Racing announces Sacha Fenestraz as reserve driver and will join the team for the double-header opener of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in Diriyah
  • Fenestraz drove for Jaguar Racing in the season six rookie test
  • The 21 year old will work alongside Mitch Evans and Sam Bird
  • The lights turn green for season seven in Diriyah on the 26 February 2021 at 20:00 (AST) with the second race taking place just 24 hours later

French-Argentine driver, Sacha Fenestraz has been announced as Jaguar Racing’s reserve driver and joins the team for the opening race weekend of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in Diriyah.

Fenestraz, 21, is no stranger to the British racing team, having driven for Jaguar Racing in the 2020 rookie test in Marrakesh. Jaguar were impressed with his track-record in some of the most competitive single-seater series in the world and his on-track performance after one day in the Jaguar I-TYPE.

Sacha asserted his dominance in French Formula F4 during the early stages of his career before progressing into Formula Renault and FIA Formula 3. In 2019 and at just 19 years of age, Fenestraz won the Japanese Formula 3 title and achieved his third single seater title in five years. Last year he raced in Japan in the Super GT and Super Formula series.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Jaguar Racing in Marrakesh last year – to now be the reserve driver for this iconic brand and alongside one of the strongest driver line-ups in the world championship is a big moment for me. Formula E offers a challenge very different to anything I have raced in before and I can’t wait to support the team and return to the electric racing paddock.

Sacha Fenestraz
Reserve driver

It is great to have Sacha joining us as reserve driver. He is a young, talented driver who has a great character and is really enthusiastic about this opportunity, he will be an important addition to the team. We were impressed with his approach and performance in the the one-day rookie test in 2020. We are pleased to have him join the team.

James Barclay
Team Director Jaguar Racing

The young driver will be supporting Jaguar Racing for the first two races of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and during other rounds to be announced.

The doubler header sees the first race commence on Friday 26 February 2021 at 20:00 local time (AST) and the second on Saturday 27 February 2021 at 20:00 local time (AST).

Further information

For further information about Jaguar Racing, please contact:

Adrian Atkinson, Global PR and Communications Manager, Jaguar Racing

Tel: +44 (0) 7979 554005

Email: aatkins5@jaguarlandrover.com

 

Emily Hogg, Global Brand and Partnerships Officer, Jaguar Racing

Tel: + 44 (0) 7384 532 605

Email: ehogg2@jaguarlandrover.com

Notes to Editors

ABOUT JAGUAR RACING

Jaguar returned to racing in October 2016, becoming the first premium manufacturer to join the all-electric ABB FIA Formula E World Championship street racing series. In 2019 the team won the Rome E-Prix – Jaguar’s first international motorsport victory since 1991.

Formula E is a real-world test bed for Jaguar with its Race To Innovate mission in the future of electrification.

As an official manufacturer team in Formula E, Jaguar Racing designs its own powertrain, which includes the motor, transmission, inverter and rear suspension.

To control costs the carbon fibre chassis and battery are common components and the same for all twelve teams. This allows the focus to be on developing electric vehicle powertrains which are efficient and lightweight which will improve the performance and range of future Jaguar Land Rover electric vehicles.

The 2020/21 Formula E season is the first as the all-electric series has been granted full world championship status by the FIA – the sport’s governing body. It will be the third year for the teams to be racing with the futuristic Gen2 race cars.

Teams have two race cars, one per driver, which will be used for the full race distance.

Beyond its all-electric concept, Formula E is unique in the world of motorsport for its choice of venues. The championship takes place on temporary street circuits in the centre of the world’s major cities including Santiago, Diriyah, Rome, Paris, Monaco, New York and ending in a double-header race weekend in London.  

Mitch Evans finished season six seventh in the Drivers' Championship and Jaguar Racing finished seventh in the Teams' Standings with a win in Mexico City, a podium in Santiago and one pole position. He is joined for season seven by British driver Sam Bird, who has won a race in every season of Formula E.

In season seven the championship is official recognised as a world championship by the governing body the FIA. It will be known as the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

 

Race to Innovate

Formula E remains a key priority for Jaguar Land Rover and the company’s Destination Zero journey. As the only all-electric world championship, Formula E allows us to test and develop new electric vehicle technologies in a high-performance environment. It continues to be the test-bed for our Race to Innovate mission that will see Race to Road and Road to Race learnings that will help shape our electric future – a future that Jaguar is passionate about, and dedicated to for the benefit of our society, the changing landscape of mobility, sustainability and our customers.