BMW I-Andretti Motorsport driver Alexander Sims put in another exceptional performance at the 2019 Santiago ePrix for round three of the 2018-19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship.
The Englishman made his way from eighth on the grid to finish in third place on the road in a chaotic race. But, he was subsequently demoted to seventh in the final classification after being deemed to have hit Venturi Formula E driver Edoardo Mortara earlier in the race.
The Parque O’Higgins Circuit in Santiago was soaring ahead of the third round of the series with 37 degrees air temperature and over 50 degrees track temperature ahead of the start of the race.
Sims made a good start, making solid progress in the early laps, including a great overtake on the GEOX Dragon Racing car of Maxmillian Gunther.
Soon the BMW racer edged his way up the sharp end of the field and was engaged in a tight contest with Venturi driver Mortara over third place.
The duo went into the turns 8/9/10 chicane nose to tail, with Mortara spinning as a result of contact between the pair and fell down two places, leaving the Englishman to claim his first podium in the all-electric racing series.
Or so he thought…
Sims was given a 20-second penalty in the immediate aftermath of the race which demoted him down to seventh, which meant he finds himself only tenth in the points classification on 18 points.
After the race, Sims was in a sombre mood, but satisfied with how the car performed, saying:
“The team did an excellent job of helping me to manage the car during this very tough race,” says Sims. “On track, it was a good weekend.
“Qualifying was sensible and we started from a reasonable position. I think if I’d executed a cleaner lap, we had the pace to be in the Super Pole qualifying session.
“The race went well – we had the opportunity to fight for position and have some good battles. I think we made good use of Attack Mode, learning a lot in the process of how best to use it and how to be competitive when racing against others who have that advantage.
“The team did a brilliant job of managing the challenges we had with the battery in the hot ambient temperatures, and generally we did great to come through to third on track.”
The 2018-19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship now heads to Mexico City for round four of the series where Sims hopes the tables will turn for him to claim his first podium finish at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
