Following on from third in the 2023 championship standings, E.ON Veloce Racing secured a positive start to Season 4 as they look to build on last year’s top-three result. Can the British squad continue its run of podiums, which saw two third-place finishes at the Desert X Prix, as the team pursues its maiden Extreme E title?
The 2024 grid is shaping up to be even more competitive than the last, with five teams already showing signs of what it takes to reach the top of the leaderboard. E.ON Veloce Racing are one of the few teams in familiar territory, competing at the front for race wins and podiums once again, alongside defending champions Rosberg X Racing (RXR) and Season 3 runners-up ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team (ASXE).
Molly Taylor and Kevin Hansen established themselves as a driver-pairing to watch in 2023, taking three wins and two further podiums during their first full campaign with E.ON Veloce Racing.
Now in their second campaign together, Hansen and Taylor hit the ground running with two third-place finishes in the opening double-header in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as the only duo to appear on both podiums at the 2024 Desert X Prix.
E.ON Veloce Racing took 33 points from the season-opener, sitting third in the championship standings after two rounds just eight points off leaders RXR and only six points adrift of ASXE.
Molly Taylor, E.ON Veloce Racing, said: “It was a great weekend for us. We had some fantastic battles, and it was really challenging in the dust, but we had some amazing speed and the team have been on fire. It was really important at this point to take some solid points in the championship, and we’ve definitely started Season 4 on the right foot.”
Kevin Hansen, E.ON Veloce Racing, said: “The team put together an amazing car for us. There wasn’t a single problem all weekend, so it was up to us out there to make the most of it. A special shout out to the guys in the command centre as they did a fantastic job coaching us through the races. At the end of the day, we’re super happy with a double podium to start off the season and we’re up there in the title fight for sure.”
Back-to-back podiums at a Desert X Prix event is not something new to E.ON Veloce Racing. Together with Hansen and Taylor, the London-based team took its maiden victory at the opening round of Season 3 in NEOM, Saudi Arabia, and followed it with second-place in Round 2.
Returning to another Desert X Prix, Hansen and Taylor proved once more how well they can adapt to the most unique terrain in the Extreme E calendar, taking on the sands of Jeddah for the first time.
The first racing action of Season 4 saw Hansen get the best launch off the line, which he built upon to hand Taylor a seven-second lead, which the Australian carried across the line to secure the team’s first race win of the year and a championship point along the way.
A confident run by Taylor in Qualifying 2 kept ASXE’s Fraser McConnell and LEGACY M.C.’s Travis Pastrana within reach, which Hansen took advantage of during his stint, securing E.ON Veloce Racing’s spot in the Grand Final with an overtake on LEGACY M.C.’s Gray Leadbetter.
In the Grand Final, Hansen slotted into third behind RXR and the NEOM McLaren Extreme E Team as the teams battled with each other and the deepening ruts in the course. Both Hansen and Taylor came close to the overtake, with the latter keeping ASXE’s McConnell at bay, but in the end the pair could only keep a clean run to take the third step on the podium.
In Round 2, Qualifying 1 saw Taylor hold her own among a strong field, overtaking NEOM McLaren XE’s Cristina Gutiérrez to take third. Hansen replicated his teammate’s performance, with an overtake for second place in the Heat to cross the line just 1.6 seconds off the lead.
In Qualifying 2 Heat 1, Hansen was hot on the heels of NEOM McLaren XE’s Ekström as he slotted into second place. Taylor took first place as the teams left the Switch Zone, but eventually lost out to Andretti Altawkilat Extreme E’s Timmy Hansen. The Australian looked to have kept second in her grasp, but was pipped to the line in the final stages of the Heat by NEOM McLaren XE’s Gutiérrez.
After a nail-biting second qualifying session, E.ON Veloce Racing finished on the same amount of points as NEOM McLaren XE, but a quicker time in the Continental Traction Challenge saw Hansen and Taylor through to another Grand Final.
Carrying that pace into the last race of the Desert X Prix double-header, Taylor surged forward after a difficult start to take third place. Following the driver change, teammate Hansen fended off RXR’s Kristoffersson to ensure another third-place result for E.ON Veloce Racing.
The 2024 Desert X Prix saw Taylor and Hansen demonstrate that they still have a winning formula, and E.ON Veloce Racing will be looking to convert their drivers’ pace into enough podiums to enter the record books as Extreme E Season 4 champions.
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