Extreme E

Rosberg X Racing completes bounceback with Island X Prix 2 win, ABT CUPRA disqualified

3 Mins read
Credit: Andrew Ferraro

If not for the penalty in the Island X Prix #1, Rosberg X Racing would be three-for-three in 2022. But two-for-three after a dominating performance in the second race of the doubleheader is still certainly a strong effort for the Extreme E championship leaders. Following yet another qualifying sweep on Saturday and winning Semi-Final #1, RXR’s Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky got by the leading ABT CUPRA XE of Jutta Kleinschmidt on the final lap for the team’s fifth total victory.

ABT CUPRA’s Nasser Al-Attiyah outran Johan Kristoffersson throughout the first lap of the Final, which prompted the latter to “just [try] to stay as close as possible to him, to give Mikaela the best possible basis for her run, and she made good use of it with a fantastic move. It’s a team achievement that we can all be proud of.”

“It’s been my strongest Extreme E weekend so far,” commented Åhlin-Kottulinsky. “We worked so hard, Johan and I analysed everything to try and improve even more. The final was an absolute blast for me, waiting for right opportunity to overtake Jutta. After this week, and everything that happened during the first race, I just feel like this is the ending that we deserved, and I am very happy for the team.”

“It reminds me of my F1 days,” said RXR owner Nico Rosberg. “It’s been a great team effort with everyone giving their best and being at the height of their game. Both drivers have been performing at an incredibly high level. Johan was the star of Race #1 in NEOM. Mikaela was the star of this weekend with her speed and incredible pass for the win through the river, during the last lap. I couldn’t be prouder.”

Even if Kleinschmidt held off Åhlin-Kottulinsky, it would have been for naught as the right shoulder strap of her seatbelt was not fastened, a glaring safety hazard that resulted in ABT CUPRA being disqualified. The team is the first to suffer a disqualification in series history.

With ABT CUPRA’s penalty, X44 and Andretti United XE were respectively moved up to second and third, the latter of whom scores their first podium of 2022 after a rough Race #1 and advancing to the Final via the Crazy Race. X44 also rebounded from having their qualifying streak snapped in the first Sardinia round.

“It’s a good result, but we are still losing points to the leader, quite a lot with the Super Sector ones that they scored,” said X44’s Sébastien Loeb. “We need to react as the Rosberg team is really strong. Both of the drivers are really fast and they make no mistakes so we’ll need to be stronger next time.”

Andretti United’s Catie Munnings described the effort as “a well-deserved result for the team. We had good pace this weekend and to be rewarded with a podium is special. I’m really looking forward to Chile as I think we’ve kind of turned the page, got out of the energy of bad luck as a team from the first couple of races and hopefully we’ll be top step next time.”

ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team, racing in the Extreme E test car and Heat #2 winner, retired after Carlos Sainz hit a stone which resulted in terminal damage. XITE Energy Racing also failed to finish the weekend after Tamara Molinaro went off course while trying to navigate through dust kicked up by Lance Woolridge‘s spun vehicle in the Crazy Race.

Race results

FinishNumberTeamTotal TimeDriver #1Lap TimeDriver #2Lap Time
16Rosberg X Racing9:12.668Johan Kristoffersson3:46.379Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky3:47.544
244X449:20.895Sébastien Loeb3:48.912Cristina Gutiérrez3:52.852
323Andretti United XE9:25.552Timmy Hansen3:51.458Catie Munnings3:55.507
455ACCIONA | Sainz XE TeamDNFCarlos SainzN/ALaia SanzN/A
5125ABT CUPRA XE9:20.322 (DSQ)Nasser Al-Attiyah3:40.800Jutta Kleinschmidt3:56.750

Semi-Final #1

FinishNumberTeamTotal TimeDriver #1Lap TimeDriver #2Lap Time
16Rosberg X Racing9:19.987Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky3:53.377Johan Kristoffersson3:46.773
255ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team9:28.943Laia Sanz4:05.671Carlos Sainz3:43.387
399Chip Ganassi RacingDNFSara PriceN/AKyle LeDucN/A

Semi-Final #2

FinishNumberTeamTotal TimeDriver #1Lap TimeDriver #2Lap Time
144X449:18.618Cristina Gutiérrez3:56.339Sébastien Loeb3:40.643
2125ABT CUPRA XE9:22.626Jutta Kleinschmidt4:06.293Nasser Al-Attiyah3:37.153
358McLaren XE9:38.071Emma Gilmour4:08.744Tanner Foust3:45.718

Crazy Race

FinishNumberTeamTotal TimeDriver #1Lap TimeDriver #2Lap Time
123Andretti United XE9:21.335Timmy Hansen3:58.189Catie Munnings3:44.606
222JBXE9:41.873*Kevin Hansen4:05.338Hedda Hosås3:46.977
35Veloce Racing10:09.567*Lance Woolridge4:03.039Christine GZ4:09.618
442XITE Energy Racing7:46.847 (DNF)Timo Scheider4:39.911Tamara Molinaro1:39.235
* – Received a penalty
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Justin is not an off-road racer, but he writes about it for The Checkered Flag.
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