ABT Sportsline wrote a bit of motorsport history in Beijing this weekend. Lucas di Grassi won the inaugural race of FIA Formula E that is held with all-electric racing cars for the only German team in the field. The dramatic race was only decided in the penultimate corner of the 25 laps.
The inaugural event in the heart of Beijing was held in front of some ten thousand fans lining the circuit and more than 40 million TV viewers on a single day: free practice, qualifying and the race that lasted a little more than 60 minutes all within the space of a few hours. The engineers, mechanics and drivers of Team ABT Sportsline were the ones to do best in keeping their cool and with grid positions two for Lucas di Grassi and three for Daniel Abt captured good starting bases.
In the race di Grassi and Abt initially defended their positions but lost a bit of ground during the pit stops about halfway through the race. Finishing the race in positions three and five seemed a certain outcome when the two leading cars collided with each other in a spectacular crash in the penultimate corner and retired. Lucas di Grassi crossed the finish line as the winner whereas Daniel Abt was initially classified in third place but was subsequently relegated. In a strong race the driver from Kempten, Germany, had exceeded the energy consumption limit by 0.2 kilowatt hours (28 kilowatt hours are permitted per car), received a time penalty and achieved 10th place.
Beijing marked the first of a total of ten Formula E races which include rounds in Malaysia, Uruguay, Argentina, the USA, Monaco, Great Britain and Germany. The next round will be held in Putrajaya (Malaysia) on 22 November 2014.
Drivers and team director – what they said
Hans-Jürgen Abt: “Obviously, we dreamt of a start like this but also worked hard for it. My thanks today go to all the organisers, fans, media, team members, and of course the drivers who joined us on this journey from the initial idea through to this fantastic day. Although a lot of things were new everybody kept cool. Congratulations to Lucas on this absolutely deserved victory, but also to Daniel, who clearly showed his potential with his grid position and a strong race.”
Daniel Abt (D, 21, #66): “I’m leaving Beijing with mixed feelings. I felt absolutely comfortable in the team and in the car and was happy about third place on the grid. In the race I was able to keep the pace throughout and would have mounted the podium in the end despite a somewhat unfortunate pit stop. I’m proud of this premiere, as well as of the team’s victory clinched by my team-mate. Congratulations to Lucas! I’ve got to accept that I received a penalty. It was about 0.2 kilowatt hours that I’m sure did not affect the outcome of the race. But rules are rules.”
Lucas di Grassi (BR, 30, #11): “Today a small dream has come true. My thanks, first of all, have to go to my team and the sponsors who make it possible for me to compete in this series. I had huge fun from the first to the last lap. The races in Formula E pose a unique challenge because you not only have to be a racing driver but watch your energy management in the process of driving. Obviously, I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time on the last lap – but that’s part of racing. Now I’m going to travel directly to Austin to contest the WEC race with Audi next weekend with plenty of motivation.”
You can find more information on theABT Formula E website:
A short review about first Formula E race can be found here: