PAIN IN SPAIN FOR JAGUAR RACING AT VALENCIA E-PRIX

25 April 2021

Going into the Valencia double‑header the team were focussed on delivering a solid points scoring weekend but unfortunately challenging conditions for group one qualifiers and two difficult races meant the team weren’t able to build on the points haul secured to date this season.

  • Jaguar Racing leave Valencia without any points but are looking forward to the Monaco E‑Prix
  • Mitch Evans and Sam Bird were unfortunate to have wet conditions in their group one qualifying session which meant today’s race would be a significant challenge to secure a points finish
  • Sam Bird remains joint third in the ABB FIA Formula E Drivers’ World Championship with 43 points. Mitch Evans remains fifth in the championship with 39 points.
  • Jaguar Racing sit second in the ABB FIA Formula E Teams’ World Championship
  • The lights turn green for the seventh round of the Formula E World Championship on the iconic streets of Monaco on 8 May 2021

The second round of the double‑header in Valencia saw both Jaguar Racing drivers in qualifying group one. While Mitch Evans came second in the group, with significant track evolution due to the track drying out, qualifying results saw teams in group four set lap times 2.3 seconds quicker than drivers in group one.

Mitch Evans and Sam Bird started the sixth round of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship in P19 and P20 respectively. After the chaos of yesterday’s race and starting from the back of the grid, the team implemented a race strategy that showed promise but unfortunately didn’t work out today in a race which was incredibly hard to make progress and favoured the teams and drivers who qualified in the top six positions.

Mitch Evans made decisive moves to carve his way through the pack from P19 to P9 showing the fast pace of the Jaguar I‑TYPE 5, before dropping back to conserve energy for a race which could have potentially run a lap longer. He eventually finished out of the points in P15.

Briton, Sam Bird, also climbed up the order, overtaking several drivers including former teammate Robin Frijns and Nico Müller before finishing P14.

Sam Bird remains joint third in the ABB FIA Formula E Drivers’ World Championship with 43 points. Kiwi, Mitch Evans also remains 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 - VALENCIA E-PRIX - ROUND 6
JAGUAR RACING - VALENCIA E-PRIX - ROUND 6
JAGUAR RACING - VALENCIA E-PRIX - ROUND 6
JAGUAR RACING - VALENCIA E-PRIX - ROUND 6
JAGUAR RACING - VALENCIA E-PRIX - ROUND 6
JAGUAR RACING - VALENCIA E-PRIX - ROUND 6

A wet to drying track in group one qualifying was always going to mean a good qualifying result wasn’t possible. With it being the second race and after the learnings of yesterday for all teams it also meant that it would mean a significant challenge to make our way into a points scoring finish today. Our strategy very nearly paid off though with both Mitch and Sam fighting through the field and threatening to secure a double top ten finish. Unfortunately we weren’t able to translate this potential into the end result but we once again showed as a team we are racers and push to make progress. Sometimes, the days where you are less successful are the days where you learn the most. We’ll be taking these learnings and putting them into our preparations for Monaco. We’re really looking forward to racing on this iconic circuit and hopefully putting the Jaguar I‑TYPE 5 back into the points.

James Barclay
Team Director, Jaguar Racing

Very disappointing weekend for myself and for Jaguar Racing. Fortunately, from a damage limitation point of view, the people around us didn’t score huge points either. I’m really looking forward to Monaco and hopefully we can score some points there.

Sam Bird
Jaguar Racing driver, #10

Our pace was good today but some of the strategy calls didn’t work out in our favour. We were really compromised a lot with the drying track conditions in qualifying. It’s nothing too major to worry about so we’re going to go away, take these learnings and focus on a a clean run in Monaco.

Mitch Evans
Jaguar Racing driver, #20

The lights turn green for the seventh round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship on the iconic streets of Monaco on 8 May 2021.

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.