X44 narrows Extreme E title battle as RXR disqualified

Rosberg X Racing looked like a juggernaut for much of their Extreme E championship defence, but a series of miscues in the Energy X Prix has blown the title battle wide open.

A poor showing in qualifying and a crash in their heat relegated RXR to the Crazy Race alongside fellow championship contender X44 Vida Carbon Racing. While precarious, it was not the end of the world for RXR as they simply needed to win the Crazy Race to clinch the title, but even that did not come to fruition. An early spin after contact with Tamara Molinaro forced Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky to regain lost ground, only to collide with Hedda Hosås and force JBXE into retirement. While RXR was able to repair the car in time, they were barred from continuing due to a switch bay violation.

With RXR out of the picture, X44 overcame their five-second chassis violation penalty and drove off to the Crazy Race win, which was cushioned by XITE Energy Racing receiving a thirty-second penalty for Molinaro’s incident with Åhlin-Kottulinsky. In order to leapfrog RXR for the championship, they need to finish at least second in the Final or third if they win the Continental Traction Challenge.

In the two Semi-Finals, Veloce Racing continued their strong weekend by winning the first while Andretti United XE took the second. ABT CUPRA XE and McLaren XE also punched their tickets by finishing second. ACCIONA | Sainz XE, who maintained an outside shot at the title entering the weekend, saw their hopes disappear after Laia Sanz rolled while trying to pass McLaren’s Emma Gilmour.

Race results

Semi-Final #1

Semi-Final #2

Crazy Race