Extreme E

ACCIONA Sainz survives for Island X Prix 2 Saturday win

2 Mins read
Credit: Sam Bagnall

ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team had a perfect Saturday as Mattias Ekström and Laia Sanz won both heat races and the Grand Final, but the latter was not exactly the cleanest affair.

Nearly everyone in the Grand Final ended the race with some sort of damage, with ACCIONA | Sainz being the exception as they cruised to the win. Carl Cox Motorsport‘s Timo Scheider had the early advantage entering the first corner only for Ekström to overtake him along the outside line and pull away. CCM would eventually retire.

Behind him and Sanz, ABT CUPRA XE stole second from Veloce Racing after the latter struggled with correcting broken windshield wipers in the switch bay. Although a dry day, the second Island X Prix course featured water crossings not present for the first in July, making wipers an imperative feature. Rosberg X Racing, who has dominated in Sardinia since its introduction including sweeping the July rounds, briefly stopped with a mechanical issue but crawled to the finish.

Andretti XE won the Redemption Race to bounce back from missing the second round of qualifying due to a crash in the first heat. On the other hand, McLaren XE‘s difficult weekend continued after Tamara Molinaro flipped to start the Redemption Race; Molinaro was driving in relief for Emma Gilmour, who fractured her rib in a practice crash on Friday.

Molinaro was not injured in her crash, but McLaren eventually announced the damage was too substantial to race on Sunday. The team was using the series’ spare car as their original vehicle was too wounded in Gilmour’s accident.

“Due to damage sustained to the chassis during the Redemption Race earlier today, it will not be possible to repair the car in time for tomorrow’s running and we have therefore taken the difficult decision to not participate in Round 8,” reads a McLaren statement.

“As racers, this is not a call we take lightly, especially given the efforts of the team to prepare for and during the event. However, the number one priority is that both Emma and Tamara are alright and in good spirits following their incidents.

“Our full focus will now be on the final two rounds in Chile and ending the season on a high.”

Grand Final results

FinishNumberTeamTotal TimeDriver #1Driver #2
155ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team9:47.173Mattias EkströmLaia Sanz
2125ABT CUPRA XE10:29.939Sébastien LoebKlara Andersson
35Veloce Racing10:53.149*Kevin HansenMolly Taylor
46Rosberg X Racing13:29.1298Johan KristofferssonMikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky
58Carl Cox MotorsportDNFTimo ScheiderLia Block
* – Received a penalty

Redemption Race results

FinishNumberTeamTotal TimeDriver #1Driver #2
123Andretti ALTAWKILAT Extreme E10:35.722Timmy HansenCatie Munnings
222JBXE10:43.214Andreas BakkerudHedda Hosås
399GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing10:47.720RJ AndersonAmanda Sorensen
444X44 Vida Carbon RacingDNFFraser McConnellCristina Gutiérrez
558NEOM McLaren XEDNFTamara MolinaroTanner Foust

Qualifying results

Round #1

Heat #1

FinishNumberTeamTotal TimeDriver #1Driver #2
155ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team9:50.643Mattias EkströmLaia Sanz
28Carl Cox Motorsport9:52.578Timo ScheiderLia Block
399GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing9:56.670RJ AndersonAmanda Sorensen
422JBXE9:59.519Hedda HosåsAndreas Bakkerud
558NEOM McLaren XE10:30.303Tamara MolinaroTanner Foust

Heat #2

FinishNumberTeamTotal TimeDriver #1Driver #2
1125ABT CUPRA XE10:02.949Sébastien LoebKlara Andersson
25Veloce Racing10:06.263Kevin HansenMolly Taylor
36Rosberg X Racing10:13.782Johan KristofferssonMikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky
444X44 Vida Carbon RacingDNFFraser McConnellCristina Gutiérrez
523Andretti ALTAWKILAT Extreme EDNFTimmy HansenCatie Munnings

Round #2

Heat #1

FinishNumberTeamTotal TimeDriver #1Driver #2
155ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team9:37.429Laia SanzMattias Ekström
25Veloce Racing9:41.834Molly TaylorKevin Hansen
344X44 Vida Carbon Racing9:49.383*Cristina GutiérrezFraser McConnell
499GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing10:06.702Amanda SorensenRJ Anderson
558NEOM McLaren XEDNFTanner FoustTamara Molinaro

Heat #2

FinishNumberTeamTotal TimeDriver #1Driver #2
16Rosberg X Racing9:55.156Johan KristofferssonMikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky
2125ABT CUPRA XE10:09.762Klara AnderssonSébastien Loeb
38Carl Cox Motorsport10:25.965*Lia BlockTimo Scheider
422JBXEDNFAndreas BakkerudHedda Hosås
523Andretti ALTAWKILAT Extreme EDNSCatie MunningsTimmy Hansen
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Justin is not an off-road racer, but he writes about it for The Checkered Flag.
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