TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team head to the inaugural Portland E-Prix this weekend having reclaimed the lead of the Constructors’ Championship in Jakarta, where Pascal Wehrlein claimed the team’s first win since Cape Town.
After enduring a few challenging rounds, Porsche returned with a bang in Jakarta, where Wehrlein also reclaimed the lead of the Drivers’ Championship. The German manufacturer certainly enjoyed a “strong performance” in South East Asia, with Team Principal Florian Modlinger having been proud of his side’s “brilliant team effort”.
“Our strong performance can’t be attributed to individual parameters. In Jakarta, we put in a brilliant team effort under extreme conditions, for which I cannot thank our team at the racetrack and in Weissach enough. The squad was very well prepared for this challenge.
“The track characteristics and the external conditions suited our car well. Qualifying was our best so far this season and this was crucial for Pascal’s incredible victory in the first race. We have to build on this performance in Portland and try to focus on extending our championship lead with another top result.”
Looking ahead to Portland this weekend, Formula E’s trip to the West Coast represents the start of the final three venues of the 2022/23 season, which Modlinger is expecting to go down to the wire in the London season finale. This weekend’s twelfth round of the season is certainly going to be an intriguing one, given that it’s being held on an actual race track.
The Portland International Raceway is the host venue, with it annually being used by the NTT IndyCar Series. Despite the fact FE isn’t racing on the streets as per usual this weekend, Modlinger doesn’t expect it to make a “major difference” in how Porsche will prepare for what is set to be an exciting weekend.
“After two-thirds of the season, the field is incredibly close, especially in the drivers’ championship, where Pascal leads by just one point. I’m expecting a tough battle for the title right up to the last race. But first, there’s Portland as the fourth new circuit this season. We’ve never raced there before and so we don’t have any relevant data.
“The fact that the Portland International Raceway is not a typical Formula E street circuit but a permanent racetrack that is used by the IndyCar Series, among others, makes no major difference to how we prepare. The layout looks very interesting and it brings new and exciting challenges for the entire technology package of our Porsche 99X Electric. We’ve prepared meticulously for this.”
