Nissan e. dams have shown strong pace and potential in recent rounds of the 2018-19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship with Oliver Rowland running in podium positions in the past two races at Mexico City and Hong Kong, while former series champion Sebastien Buemi took pole position in Santiago and lead the first half of the race in Chile.
However, things haven’t worked out as planned for the French-Japanese outfit with Buemi’s eighth place in Marrakesh being their last points finish.
With Formula E making its debut at a brand-new circuit for the 2019 Sanya ePrix, Nissan are hopeful to clear the bad air and to get a good result in China for the Japanese manufacturer’s debut season in the all-electric racing series.
China is an important market for Nissan having launched the all-electric Nissan Sylphy Zero Emission passenger car last April, with the model combining the durability, reliability and value of the popular Nissan Sylphy sedan with the exciting performance of a fully-electric powertrain.
The company is using the championship to enhance the performance of the Nissan road cars as one of the leading electric automotive brands in the world. Nissan global motorsports director Michael Carcamo is hpoefuly heading to Sanya.
“China is very important for Nissan in terms of sales and manufacturing, so we’d love to celebrate our first podium here” he said.
“We’ve seen both our drivers lead races already this season, and now we just have to complete the job. We’re continuing to improve our overall package and give our drivers the best car possible.”
Former series champion Buemi has endured a frustrating time in the past three races, but as the last winner of a Formula E race in China, winning the 2015 Beijing ePrix, he is hopeful of a strong race weekend ahead, and says ahead of the weekend, “The Nissan e. dams car has shown great speed in the past three races, but the results we’ve been chasing haven’t come yet.
“We have no choice but to keep working as hard as we can. There’s no point in us looking back and wondering, ‘what if.’ Everyone at Nissan e.dams has continued to work incredibly hard to improve our package further.”
Oliver Rowland has shown tremendous pace in qualifying in the past two rounds, having made two Super Pole appearances in the past two races and lead the early stages of the 2019 Hong Kong ePrix. But he is yet to get his breakthrough result, with a seventh place at the 2018 Ad Diriyah being all to show for his efforts so far this season. But he is hopeful to fight for the win this weekend in Sanya, “After the past two races, I certainly feel like I belong in this championship. I may be a rookie, but the speed is there. Now, I want to reward Nissan e.dams’ faith in me by bringing home a result.
“This weekend will be a little more of a level playing field for me, as this will be a brand-new track for everyone in the championship.”
The 2019 Sanya ePrix gets underway on 23 March at 3 pm local time for the 45-minute plus one lap race, where Nissan will be hoping to score their first Formula E podium.
