Rosberg X Racing (RXR) took the win at the NEOM Island X Prix II with a late overtake to secure their second victory of Extreme E Season 2. X44 finished second and Genesys Andretti United Extreme E third after ABT CUPRA XE were disqualified following a safety infringement.
With Nico Rosberg in the NEOM Island X Prix II paddock to watch his team’s progress, a superb pass by Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky on ABT CUPRA XE’s Jutta Kleinschmidt sealed the win.
Åhlin-Kottulinsky, and team-mate Johan Kristoffersson, who headed the standings prior to the Sardinian double-header, now have a lead of 37 points ahead of their nearest challengers No.99 GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing, with X44 now up to third.
RXR also scored maximum points from Round Three, with the quickest combined time in the Continental Traction Challenge adding five to their tally, bringing their total overall to 80 points.
Nico Rosberg, Founder and CEO of Rosberg X Racing, commented: “It is such a pleasure for me to work with this team. It reminds me of my F1 days. It’s been a great team effort with everyone giving their best and being at the height of their game. Both drivers have been performing at an incredibly high level. Johan was the star of Race 1 in NEOM. Mikaela was the star of this weekend with her speed and incredible pass for the win through the river, during the last lap. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Johan Kristoffersson, RXR, said: “I am very happy. It was a phenomenal weekend for us, starting with a good qualifying and a very fast in the super sector. The car felt amazing all week and we have got to thank the team for that. They worked very hard, and it paid off. My run was smooth, but Nasser was incredibly fast, so I just tried to stay as close as possible to him, to give Mikaela the best possible basis for her run, and she made good use of it with a fantastic move. It’s a team achievement that we can all be proud of.”
Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky, RXR, said: “It’s been my strongest Extreme E weekend so far. We worked so hard, Johan and I analysed everything to try and improve even more. The final was an absolute blast for me, waiting for right opportunity to overtake Jutta. After this week, and everything that happened during the first race, I just feel like this is the ending that we deserved, and I am very happy for the team.”
Alejandro Agag, CEO and Founder of Extreme E, added: “I think it’s been a great success. I think we’ve seen really the Championship coming together, very few technical problems for the cars, and I think we’ve seen the best racing so far.
“A huge thank you to our hosts, the Automobile Club d’Italia and Regione Sardegna. I hope that this is not the only double-header as it is a great format. It gives the chance for teams that don’t do well to recover the race after. I think everybody was very positive about it – it makes a longer time of enjoying racing and I think there will be more of them to come.”
The scene was set for a thrilling climax to the Sardinia double-header as Nasser Al-Attiyah lined up in the favoured number 2 spot between Timmy Hansen and Sébastien Loeb. On the other end of the start line Johan Kristofferson was joined by Carlos Sainz Snr. following their dramatic collision in last round’s Final, which saw RXR receive a 30-second penalty that pushed the team from first to third.
As the teams set off, Sainz Snr. experimented by taking his ODYSSEY 21 down the furthest possible lane on the right, away from Kristofferson in the RXR car. The Spaniard’s gamble did not pay off, as the ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team came out at the back of the pack as the cars merged into the single lane.
Meanwhile ABT CUPRA XE on the preferred line surged to the front of the group, with RXR close behind in second and X44 rounding out the top three.
Timmy Hansen slotted into fourth for Genesys Andretti United Extreme E as Loeb and Kristoffersson chased down Al-Attiyah further up the course.
Five seconds separated the front three as Al-Attiyah began to pull away from Kristoffersson, while a problem for Sainz Snr. Saw the ACCIONA | SAINZ XE car drop off the back of the pack and eventually come to a stop out on track.
It was still a four-way tear up for the win as the teams entered the Switch Zone until disaster struck for ABT CUPRA XE. During the driver change Jutta Kleinschmidt failed to properly buckle her seatbelt before setting off on her lap. This would later lead to the team’s disqualification from the Final, after they finished second on the course.
They lost the lead thanks to an incredible overtake from RXR’s Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky in the closing stages of the race, who forcefully took the position to take the team’s second win of 2022.
ABT CUPRA XE’s disqualification also promoted X44 into second and secured Genesys Andretti United Extreme E a spot on the third step of the podium, their first top three finish of the season, which was a huge boost for both teams after a difficult start to the Sardinian double-header.
Sébastien Loeb, X44, said: “We were struggling from the start – from the first free practice we had problems with brake balance, and we had problems with the front wheel spin. It made the car very difficult to drive so we had to sort that out and tried to take some decisions to change some parts and change some settings.
“In the end the feeling was quite good from the start of Q1 of the second race. The balance of the car was much better so finally we could push and in the end we finished second in the race.
“It’s a good result, but we are still losing points to the leader, quite a lot with the super sector ones that they scored. We need to react as the Rosberg team is really strong. Both of the drivers are really fast and they make no mistakes so we’ll need to be stronger next time.”
Catie Munnings, Genesys Andretti United Extreme E, said: “I am so happy to get on the podium from the Crazy Race. Bear in mind you get a worse choice on the grid for the Final and here it really does make a difference where you end up.
“I think it was probably the most competitive teams on the start line and Timmy had such a big job to bring it back. I think we also broke the tie-rod again on the rear so for my lap I was just trying to keep it in line, out of the dust.
“This is a well-deserved result for the team. We had good pace this weekend and to be rewarded with a podium is special. I’m really looking forward to Chile as I think we’ve kind of turned the page, got out of the energy of bad luck as a team from the first couple of races and hopefully we’ll be top step next time.”
Next up in the race calendar is the Copper X Prix in Chile on 24-25 September 2022, and the rest of the grid will be working hard to knock RXR off their perch at the top of the standings.
Results
1. Rosberg X Racing 9:12:668
2. X44 +8:227
3. Genesys Andretti United Extreme E +12.884
4. ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team DNF
5. ABT CUPRA XE Disqualified
Championship Standings
1. Rosberg X Racing: 80 points
2. NO.99 GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing: 43 points
3. X44: 41 points
4. ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team: 40 points
5. XITE ENERGY Racing: 27 points
6. Genesys Andretti United Extreme E: 27 points
7. NEOM McLaren Extreme E: 19 points
8. JBXE: 18 points
9. Veloce Racing: 7 points
10. ABT CUPRA XE: 6 points