Mahindra Racing have completed a very successful four-day test in Valencia ahead of the start of Season 9 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with the first round being held in just four weeks’ time.
Oliver Rowland (GBR) and Lucas Di Grassi (BRA) hit the track in their brand new Gen3 Mahindra M9Electro race cars for the first official running, starting with a shakedown on Monday, before testing officially began on Tuesday. On Wednesday, all teams took part in a simulated race weekend, which included one practice session, a qualifying sim and a race sim. An extra hour of testing was added on the official media day on Thursday, before another full day’s testing on Friday completed the week.
The team completed over 1600km over the course of the four days, with crucial data gathered about the brand new Gen3 cars. Oliver Rowland, finished the test day in fifth place overall, showing the pace of the Mahindra M9Electro against its competitors. Lucas Di Grassi finished 15th after spending the week getting used to working with his new team, joining Mahindra Racing for the first time.
It was also the first opportunity for new CEO, Frederic Bertrand to join the team on the ground after starting his new role only a few days earlier. Speaking after the test, Frederic said: “It has been a very long week, with lots learnt. It was a big team effort to get the cars on track and to understand everything with this new Gen3 car. I think we all feel quite satisfied with how the test went. All the team, including the support from ZF, did a great job. The team now has so much data that we can work with back in the factory in preparation for Mexico.”
Returning to the team for a second consecutive year, Oliver Rowland commented: “I’m pretty happy after testing. We came to Valencia not sure how prepared we were in terms of the car and everything that goes with it, but I think every day we made progress. We had a few issues, but we resolved them relatively quickly and we finished on a positive note. I was really happy in terms of progress we made but I still see areas we can improve on so I’m feeling really positive about the four days in general. We have a lot of work to do but I think the start is very positive.”
Lucas Di Grassi, the former Formula E Champion who joins the team for the first time in 2023 said: “It has been a long four days of testing but it has been very successful in my opinion. We had pretty much zero reliability problems with the car and we were able to do a lot of laps and race simulations so we are very happy. I’m enjoying working with Mahindra too. I’m understanding how everyone works and we are getting better every time I go out in the car. We are getting our heads around the Gen3 too, which is the main thing. It is very motivating for every body and I hope we can arrive in Mexico with the same feeling that we have after this test.”
The team also took the opportunity to unveil their striking red and copper livery, which will adorn the #8 and #11 machines during Season 9. The team returns to action for the opening round of the series in Mexico City on 14thJanuary.
Mahindra Racing has a strong set of partners, including Official Powertrain Partner ZF and e-fluids partner Shell. Maurice Lacroix, the luxury Swiss watchmaker, continues as the Official Timekeeper.