A double first place in qualifying guarantees the X44 team the maximum score on Saturday. At 11 points both RXR, Nico Rosberg’s team, and Abt Cupra with Ekstrom and Kleinschmidt
Earth, dust, fords and jumps: all this (and many other pitfalls) in the 7 km route that the Extreme E pilots are called to face on the occasion of the Enel X Island X Prix at the military base of Capo Teulada, in Sardinia. A path, that of the fourth stage of the championship which took over following the forfeit of the round in Brazil, which already on Friday, the one dedicated to free practice, put the 100% electric SUVs to the test.
Extreme E Sardinia: the qualifications
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The first qualifying session saw the couple Loeb-Gutierrez, of Lewis Hamilton’s X44 team, set the best time, completing the two laps (one for each driver, with driver change at the end of the first lap) in 11’05 ”105. The 9-time WRC World Champion set his own pace with careful but at the same time extremely effective and fast driving on compact ground underneath but slippery on the surface. The two then repeated themselves in the second qualifying round, thus obtaining the maximum (18) points available on Saturday. Second overall position for Nico Rosberg’s RXR team, with the Kristoffersson-Taylor pair capable of winning 11 points despite Molly Taylor’s error (resulting in a rollover without significant damage except to the rear bumper of the SUV) in the morning shift. Excellent sessions also for the Abt Cupra team, with the flexible Mattias Ekstrom, 2 times champion in the DTM, then world champion in 2016 in Rallycross and recently winner of the Pure eTcr series with Cupra, and the living legend of the Dakar Jutta Kleinschmidt – the only woman winner , in 2001, of the famous raid: the couple of the Cupra team equal the score obtained by the RXR team, finishing in third position.
Extreme And Sardinia, traps
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After a first session where the Acciona team obtained the second best time, Carlos Sainz’s team suffered from power steering problems, finishing the second qualifying session in penultimate position for a fourth place of the day. Breakage of the steering arm for Stephane Sarrazin’s electric SUV (Veloce Racing) and the same mechanical trouble in the morning shift for the Italian naturalized Spanish Christine Giampaoli Zonca of the Xite Energy Racing team.
Extreme E Sardinia, qualifying results
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Below are the scores of the day that take into account the two qualifying sessions.
1. X44 (Loeb / Gutierrez) 18 points
2. RXR (Kristofferson / Taylor) 11
3. Abt Cupra (Ekstrom / Kleinschmidt) 11
4. Acciona (Sainz / Sanz) 10
5. Chip Ganassi Racing (Leduc / Price) 9
6. Andretti United (T. Hansen / Munnings) 9
7. JBXE (K. Hansen / Ahlin-Kottulinsky) 9
8. Veloce Racing (Sarrazin / Gilmour) 8
9. Xite Energy (Bennett / Gz) 5
Extreme And Sardinia, the races on Sunday
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On Sunday the two semifinals will be held which will decide the four places available for the grand final (at 16 on Mediaset 20). The fifth will be made available by Crazy Race. Here are the nine teams divided by batteries.
Semifinal 1: X44, Chip Ganassi, Andretti United
Semifinal 2: RXR, Abt Cupra, Acciona
Crazy Race: JBXE, Veloce Racing, Xite Energy
October 23, 2021 (change October 23, 2021 | 21:28)
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