Edoardo Mortara (ROKiT Venturi Racing) claimed victory in the second E-Prix of the 2022 ABB FIA Formula E season, pipping Robin Frijns (Envision Racing) and Lucas di Grassi (ROKiT Venturi Racing) on the podium as the Porsche Taycan Turbo S Safety car ushered the drivers to the chequered flag.
Alexander Sims’ (Mahindra Racing) exit saw the safety car introduced with 10 minutes remaining but it was too late in the race for additional time, allowing Morata to seal a famous win ahead of Frijns in second and his new teammate Di Grassi in third.
It was another night filled with high-quality driving and thrilling drama in Saudi Arabia, as Morata recovered from the narrowest of defeats in the final qualifying Duel with Nyck de Vries (Mercedes-EQ) to clinch a third E-Prix victory of his career.
“Nyck was trying to pull away from us but didn’t manage to and I managed also to save a little bit of energy,” explained Mortara. “It was, for sure, an eventful race but in the end I’m glad we managed to win this one.
“I’m very happy, but it’s the second race of 16 rounds so it’s pretty early in the season, but I’m very happy me and Lucas are scoring good points for the team. It’s very important to have a good start of the season.”
Winner the night before, De Vries looked highly likely to clinch a Diriyah double after the defending Dutch champion claimed pole, but the 26-year-old had to settle for 10th-place.
With 26 minutes and one lap remaining, Mortara, Frijns and Di Grassi made moves on then-leader De Vries, with the aid of their second ATTACK MODES.
Surprisingly, De Vries held off from moving from 220kW to 250kW and he was suddenly passed by both ROKiT Venturi Racing cars as Mortara moved to the head of the pack.
A tactical cat and mouse unfolded for first and De Vries did finally take his second ATTACK MODE with 18 minutes left on the clock but he only lost ground.
The middle of the pack closed the gap and contact with Jean-Eric Vergne (DS TECHEETAH) saw the reigning champion rapidly drop to ninth as a procession of congested traffic passed De Vries, while Frijns managed to get the better of Di Grassi.
They found themselves condensed even further by Sims’ crash and there would be no opportunity for a flat-out finish.
“After yesterday, seeing Mercedes pull away from everyone else, I was expecting the same,” said Frijns. “But I tried to get in my rhythm and the more the race was going on, the more confident I felt in the car. I was surprised that I could attack them and battle them, it has been a pretty good day for me.”
Di Grassi added: “I started P4, I stayed in P4 and with the sequence of ATTACK MODES, moved all the way to P1. It would have been a very interesting end to the race [without the safety car] but sometimes the race goes for you, sometimes it doesn’t and today the safety car didn’t go in our favour. It was an interesting race.”
Saturday’s action played out at an even more relentless pace than the day prior as the track picked up pace the more its sandy film was peeled back.
It started in Free Practice 3 and continued in the qualifying Duels, with the new format’s second outing made for just as compelling viewing as its day one debut.
Having claimed Julius Baer Pole Position and gone on to finish second the day before, Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes-EQ) missed out on the Duels and had to watch on as his teammate took a sensational pole.
De Vries beat Mortara in the final by just 0.005s – one thousandth of a second – as Frijns and Di Grassi filled out the second row.
It continued the Dutchman’s excellent start to his title defence but his hopes of winning a record third Diriyah E-Prix victory were dashed at the midway point of the race.
Saturday’s E-Prix was the second of two in Diriyah that opened the 2022 ABB FIA Formula E season in Riyadh, with De Vries claiming victory on Friday night. Mortara closes the weekend at the top of the Driver Standings on 33 points, followed by De Vries (29) and Vandoorne (28). ROKiT Venturi Racing lead the Team Standings, a point clear of Mercedes-EQ and 31 ahead of Avalanche Andretti Formula E in third.
The closing race of the weekend was the sixth to run on the streets of the Saudi UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is now in its fourth year as an ABB FIA Formula E host. The first Diriyah E-Prix was held in 2018 and it held the competition’s inaugural night edition – with low consumption LED lighting fully-powered by renewable energy – in 2021.
His Royal Highness Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Motorsport Co. (SMC) said: “We’re delighted with how the Season 8 opener has gone. Once again Diriyah has made sporting history with another ‘first’ as the new qualifying format was unveiled and I’m so pleased Saudi Arabia has proudly opened this wonderful series. It’s a championship that aligns perfectly with our future vision and commitment to sustainability as a nation, and we’re thrilled to once again welcome fans from all over the world.”
ABB FIA Formula E CEO, Jamie Reigle said: “This is our fourth year racing in Diriyah and we’re very honoured that we’ve been made so welcome from the beginning. Vision 2030 is telling powerful stories about sustainability and progression, which is what Formula E is all about – a vision for a different future. We’re always pushing, always progressing and having a night race is incredibly powerful, especially in a sustainable way and this year we have a fully sustainable race in Saudi Arabia.”
Carlo Boutagy, founder of official ABB FIA Formula E promoter CBX said: “We’re seeing a substantial rise in support for our race and we have more partners this year than we’ve ever had. We’re proud to see that the community is getting involved, which all impacts the success of the race in-line with Vision 2030.”
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