JAGUAR RACING FOCUS ON SIXTH ROUND OF ABB FIA FORMULA E WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER CHAOTIC DHL VALENCIA E-PRIX

24 April 2021

Jaguar Racing today underwent a disappointing end to a chaotic, rain-affected DHL Valencia E-Prix while fighting for valuable points. Having gained crucial experience at the inaugural Formula E race in Spain the British team now concentrate on a positive outcome to tomorrow’s sixth round of ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

  • Mitch Evans made up seven places throughout the DHL Valencia E-Prix but was forced to retire after a collision with Dragon Penske Autosport’s, Sette Câmara
  • Sam Bird gained twelve places before being disqualified alongside a number of other drivers due to unpredictable energy management and five safety cars
  • Jaguar Racing sit second in the ABB FIA Formula E Teams’ World Championship
  • The lights turn green for the sixth round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship tomorrow, 25 April 2021 at 14:00 CEST, back on the Valencian Ricardo Tormo Circuit

Starting in P17, Mitch Evans fought his way through the wet field and gained seven places to put him in a points scoring position, before an incident with Sette Câmara following the ATTACK MODE zone resulted in the Kiwi having to retire with 15 minutes of the race remaining.

Teammate, Sam Bird, also showed the strong pace of the Jaguar I-TYPE 5 climbing twelve places from P20 to P8, before he was disqualified as the result of the unpredictable energy management of the race which saw multiple incidents and five safety cars being deployed. The laps under the safety car are run at a slower safer speed and the teams under the regulations must reduce their available energy accordingly.

Sam Bird now sits joint third in the ABB FIA Formula E Drivers’ World Championship with 43 points. Kiwi, Mitch Evans is fifth in the championship with 39 points.

Jaguar Racing are second in the team standings of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

 Jaguar Racing - Round 5 - VLC E-Prix
Jaguar Racing - Round 5 - VLC E-Prix
 Jaguar Racing -R5 - VLC E-Prix
Jaguar Racing -R5 - VLC E-Prix
 Jaguar Racing - R5 - VLC E-Prix
Jaguar Racing - R5 - VLC E-Prix

A chaotic race overall. Ultimately a shame because both Mitch and Sam demonstrated good pace and efficiency and we could have scored good points today, considering where we started. Ultimately, the final energy offset with two laps to go was too much for the majority of the field to finish the race. This is something that all stakeholders should look at to avoid in the future. Positively, we have another race tomorrow and the team are already looking at how we can learn from today to fight for more points tomorrow.

James Barclay
Team Director, Jaguar Racing:

The rules are the rules however to do an energy reduction - so extreme - that late on in the race, in very difficult weather conditions made it impossible for a large number of cars to finish the race. I’m still very confused as I’ve never experienced something like this in my racing career before. However we’ll now focus our efforts on tomorrow and we’ll be pushing for the points again.

Sam Bird
Jaguar Racing driver, #10

I started in seventeenth and was initially happy to see the rain as it’s always a bit of a curveball. I was making my way forward and had ended up in tenth but after I went for ATTACK MODE I ended up having a collision with Sette Câmara and unfortunately had to retire. It’s a real shame because with the pace we had in the Jaguar I-TYPE 5, I feel I would have made further progress through the field, but we have the opportunity to race again tomorrow.

Mitch Evans
Jaguar Racing driver, #20:

The lights turn green for the sixth round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship tomorrow, 25 April 2021, at 14:00 CET back on the Valencian Ricardo Tormo Circuit.

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 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 Reimagine 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.