After a positive start to the 2018-19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship, DS Techeetah head to the 2019 Marrakesh ePrix leading the teams championship, with both drivers; defending champion Jean-Eric Vergne and Andre Lotterer leaving the 2018 Ad Diriyah ePrix in the top five of the championship, looking for more success on Saturday.
The ABB FIA Formula E Championship heads to the streets of Marrakesh for the third consecutive year with the 2.99 Km Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan playing host to the second round of the championship.
The track wasn’t a particularly strong one last season with eventual champion Vergne finishing only fifth and Lotterer failing to finish. But there is optimism that this time, things will be stronger.
Mark Preston, Team Principal of DS Techeetah said, “We had a really good first race together as a new team, DS TECHEETAH, and it was a proud moment to watch everything come together during the race weekend.
“We definitely had our challenges, and I think we pretty much had every curve ball there was thrown at us, but the team handled them very well and came out on top.
“I must give some extra kudos to our new Team Manager, David Clarke, who had two practice session cancelled, qualifying re-arranged on top of all the new rules and regulations of this season, during his first race but still managed to lead the team practically and professionally.
“Ad Diriyah was a great start to the season for us but we now look to our next challenge, the Marrakesh E-Prix which we believe will shake up the grid further.
“Having raced at the circuit previously will give us some advantage but as it’s the first time that we take the Gen2 car there, we will have a lot of work to do.”
The DS E-TENSE FE19 proved more than a match for its closest competitors in Saudi Arabia, with DS Techeetah looking odds-on for a 1-2 finish, before both went over a curb which resulted in an illegal power-boost.
Both Vergne and Lotterer were then given drive-through penalties, despite this, the Frenchman came inches away from victory, and ahead of the weekend said, “Being so close to the victory in the first round has left me very hungry for more and it’s what my focus is all about right now.
“Marrakesh hasn’t been a good track for us in the past so I’m hoping that we can change that and leave Morocco on a high note this year. It still a very long way to go and we know that we need to continue to be razor sharp for the rest of the season.”
After retiring from the Marrakesh ePrix last year, Lotterer is ready to attack this year and produce a better result for the team, saying, “I’m looking forward to coming back to Marrakesh to better my result from last year. It’s a track that I enjoy driving and we’re competitive, so it’s going to be a joy to hit the track for the first time in 2019.
“We showed that we’ve got pace in Ad Diriyah, but the season is long and we’re expecting some good fights on track for the remaining races.
“Formula E has really hit a new level this year in terms of the quality of racing and the wider entertainment product and it’s so nice to see the championship going from strength to strength each season.”
