Envision Virgin Racing say they are hopeful of repeating Sam Bird’s success of last year at this weekend’s Santiago ePrix.
The British team were the ones who dealt best with the high temperatures in Chile last year as Bird qualified for the super pole shootout and then drove to victory from fourth on the grid.
And with temperatures expected to be similarly high for this year’s race, team boss Sylvain Filippi said he was optimistic about Virgin’s chances.
“Last season we proved that we were able to manage the high temperatures and able to control the situation very well,” Filippi said.
“However other teams had a year to learn, and catch-up, with us so we’re cautiously optimistic heading into the Santiago E-Prix.
“We’ve got one win under our belts this season but as we’ve seen previously, consistency is key in Formula E.”
Bird was also optimistic about winning in Santiago, although he warned that battery and tyre temperatures were likely to be crucial once again.
Bird said, “Winning in Santiago last year was spectacular, the race itself was both physically and mentally demanding which made the win even more special.
“It looks like we’ll be battling with very similar conditions again so it’s likely that battery and tyre temperatures will play an important role in the strategy for the race.”
But having won the first race if the season in Ad Diriyah back in November, the Brit was confident going into the weekend.
“We proved that we’ve got the experience to manage the external factors last time out and I feel confident going into race week, with all the preparation I have done with the team, so I’m positive that we can show our true capabilities again.”
