[ad_1]
(⏱ 7 minutes, 5 images, 1 link)
Cape Town, South Africa, February 22 – The city will host the next race in ABB FIA Formula E World Championship on February 25ththe first time the series has raced in sub-Saharan Africa and the second of three consecutive races in the new host city.
Table Mountain (below) would make a spectacular backdrop Chapter 5 on the roads of Cape Town this weekend, after a memorable debut race in Hyderabad, India, last time out and with a follow-up stop in São Paulo, Brazil.
Capital City’s Green Point District provides locations to schedule 30 rounds from high speed 2,921 km circuit, winding its way around DHL Stadium and along the shoreline overlooking Robben Island.
This track was expected to be fastest from a 16-race season and featuring bumpy braking zones, tight corners at Turns 4, 5 and 6 and a tight section in the middle of the laps that will challenge 22 drivers and their drivers. GEN3 engines – the fastest, lightest, most powerful and efficient electric race cars ever built.
As It Stands: Porsche Sets the Speed
With a quarter of the season complete, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E team and drivers Pascal Wehrlein lead in the Teams and Drivers World Championships. A double win for the German in Diriyah followed on the podium at the season opener in Mexico City. Hyderabad proved to be a test for the Stuttgart factory, with technical problems putting Wehrlein’s weekend in jeopardy through tough practice shunts.
Wehrlein and Porsche were able to find the root cause of the problem and recovered for the race with Wehrlein trailing fourth behind. Antonio Felix da Costa in a sense all three German teams lead the Formula E standings for the first time in the competition’s fourth season.
Porsche doesn’t have things their way in Hyderabad. Formula E team driver Avalanche Andretti Jaka Dennis, powered by the Porsche 99X Electric Gen3, missed a potential top-three finish after a meeting with Rene Rast (McLaren’s NEOM Formula E Team). The result of a 16th-placed finish proved to be detrimental to Dennis, who won Round 1 in Mexico and finished second in both Diriyah races, allowing Wehrlein to extend his lead in the standings over Dennis who remained second.
Jean-Eric Vergne won Round 4 in Hyderabad to start the GEN3 era for double champion and classic defensive style DS PENSKE team.
Early season favorite for many, DS PENSKE had struggled with just seven points after three rounds of Season 9 but Vergne’s win helped the team to 36 after the checkered flag in India.
Vergne took the lead from lap 15 after sweeping Envision Racing’s Sebastien Buemi and enlisted all his experience to hold his teammates Nick Cassidytoo late to steal a big win and move up to third in the Drivers standings.
Cassidy steered into a strong second, and had about four percent of usable energy in race-winning Vergne’s hands heading into the final few laps.
“I’m very happy for the team,” said Vergne. “Three very tough races and I am very proud of my team because we never gave up. We keep trying and it doesn’t matter the result – I am very proud of all my people.
“We have a good car, maybe not the best at the moment but we will continue to work hard to be the best and win again. That’s what we do, we never give up.”
Pace was not in question for Jaguar TCS Racing in Hyderabad. Mitch Evans took Pole Position Julius Baer and the pair ran in the top six from the start – with energy management also a positive feature, as evidenced by the performance of the Jaguar-powered Envision Racing car.
Were it not for the expensive slide to his teammate in the hairpin, the two Jaguars looked capable of fighting Vergne up front heading into the closing stages. Sam Bird quickly apologized for the mistake that ended the race prematurely for Bird and teammate Mitch Evans.
In Cape Town, Bird and team are out to make amends. “We had a great car, and I let my team down,” he said. “I feel really low but we have the race in Cape Town to try and get it right. The good thing is we have a fast car.”
South African native and Head of the TCS Jaguar Racing Team James Barclay said: “Growing up in South Africa and watching the last world championship race there in 1993 at Kyalami, it was a proud moment for me and the rest of the South African team to be part of the return of top level racing here. passionate motor sport country.”
Johannesburg-born racer Kelvin van der Linde learned this week that he will remain on the ABT CUPRA line-up (below) in lieu of injury Robin Frijns, meaning a home Formula E debut for South Africa the same weekend as its brother Sheldon sports car race in Kyalami.
It’s been a tough return to Formula E for ABT so far, with no points and 11th best for Nico Muller in Hyderabad. Things are slowly improving for the squad, and van der Linde will be looking to the home fans to push him up the pitch in Cape Town.
When to Watch
Free Exercise 1 for the Cape Town E-Prix will take place at 17:00 SAST (15:00 GMT) on Friday 24 February.
Free Exercise 2 take part at 09:10 SAST (07:10 GMT) on Saturday 25 February with qualification starting at 11:40 SAST (9:40 GMT). Chapter 5 of Season 9 starts at 16:00 SAST (14:00 GMT).
Follow LIVE!
Follow the action on track as it happens in brand new Racing Center. Watch Live Timings – which includes real-time interactive track maps and the ability to follow drivers during each session of every E-Prix – plus highlights, detailed session reports, exclusive interviews, all standings and results as well as data, insights and reaction from trackside.
Place to Watch
Find out how to follow the action live in each country by visiting: fiaformulae.com/en/ways-to-watch
- UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Watch the races live on CBS Sports Network either online or through your cable provider. The free practice sessions will be streamed live on CBSSports.com as well as the CBS Sports App.
- CANADA: TVA Sports 2 and TSN 5 will show all the racing action from Cape Town in French and English respectively.
- CHINA: Formula E’s digital partnership continues with HUYA, BiliBili, Weibo, Kuaishou and Douyin covering all sessions live, with live racing action on the Guangdong Sports linear channel.
- SOUTHEAST ASIA: SpoTV will provide full coverage of practice, qualifying and races.
[ad_2]
Source link
