- Carlos Sainz and Laia Sanz fought today in the first wheel-to-wheel race of the Extreme E championship.
- Carlos climbed to the lead at the start, but a contact from a rival in the first corner dropped him to third place.
- Laia completed the second lap, but the lack of visibility due to the spray of dust of the car ahead made it impossible to recover.
The journey of ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team in the Extreme E Desert X Prix came to an end this morning in the Semi-Final 1, where the team crossed the finish line in third place.
Given that only the top two advanced to the Final to fight for the overall victory, Carlos Sainz and Laia Sanz couldn’t be at the grid of the final race of the maiden event of the revolutionary off-road electric championship.
After racing against the clock yesterday in Qualifying, today was the first time that Extreme E performed a standing start with wheel-to-wheel battles on track.
The race began very well for ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team, with Carlos Sainz doing a great start and bringing the team to the lead in the first stages of the event.
But, before he could establish himself, Carlos was hit by another car. This contact compromised both of them and, in Carlos’ case, it dropped him to third place.
It was impossible to progress further up the grid due to the dust on track, thus Carlos Sainz reached the switch zone still in third.
Laia Sanz got behind the wheel of the Odyssey 21 to complete the second half of the race, but, despite her effort, the final result was compromised by dust, which made it impossible to have good visibility of the car ahead. She crossed the finish line in the third position.
At the end of the Desert X Prix, ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team lies fourth in the Extreme E Championship with 26 points.
The next race on the calendar is the Ocean X Prix, which will take place on the 29th and 30th of May at the Lac Rose of Dakar, in Senegal. Until then, the team has almost two months to analyse in detail the event of Saudi Arabia and come back stronger for the second round of the championship.
Quotes
Carlos Sainz, driver:
"The Semi-Final race was just as close and tight as we expected. It was the first standing start and we knew that it was all about who was in the lead after the first corner. We had to leave fifteen or twenty seconds between each car because the wind was strong and visibility was very poor. We played our cards. We did a great start, but we had a small contact with Loeb and then both he and Kristoffersson passed us. We are a bit disappointed, but at the same time we are happy and satisfied with our job".
"We progressed through the weekend and being the third-fastest team we will not be in the Final, but this is how this kind of racing formats are. Laia performed very well in his maiden event in four wheels. She improved a lot. I am sure that she would have loved to gather more miles in the car, but I am convinced that she will keep progressing in each race and adapting herself even better to the four wheels. She has to do as many miles she can on any four-wheeled vehicle".
"We will analyse a few things after this X Prix. On the technical side, this weekend has exposed some areas of the car where we can make improvements before the next race. On the sporting side, we will just have to make sure that we adapt the best we can to each terrain. The next race will be in Senegal and until then it is impossible to know how the track is going to be. I am convinced that we will go better each time. There is a lot of talent in this championship and it is going to be a close fight".
Laia Sanz, driver:
"Today the things didn’t turn out as we expected. The dust was just too important and it was a matter of seeing who was ahead after the first two corners. We had a small contact there and we fell to third place, and from then on we could do nothing but finish the race and hope that one of the cars ahead had an issue".
"I take with me the positive things of this X Prix. My progression was there from the very first time I jumped on the car and the differences were smaller. I have improved and we have done more miles in the car, so we have all learnt things for the next race, the Ocean X Prix. There are still almost two months to go, but I will use this time to drive and to prepare myself the best I can. It would be great to be in the Final in Senegal".
Albert Fàbrega, team principal:
"We knew that the Semi-Final would be decided in the first corner and it was just the case. Even though Carlos did an extraordinary start and climbed to the lead, he went wide after a contact with Loeb that also allowed Kristoffersson to pass them both and ultimately win the race. From that moment onwards, the dust and the lack of visibility made it impossible to recover and we couldn’t make it to the Final, which was our goal for today. We would have liked to be in the Final and to fight for victory, but we leave Saudi Arabia with a positive feeling. We proved that we have speed and both Laia and Carlos set some of the fastest lap-times in the championship. This allows us to think that in the next races we will fight again for the victory. The team did a great job. We improved the car from the first shakedown until today’s Semi-Final. Now we have to think about the next race, the Ocean X Prix in Senegal, and see where we can make improvements to make sure that both the car and the team get there in the best possible condition and in a position to fight for victory".
