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Ganassi penalty gives RXR win in Island X Prix 1
Chip Ganassi Racing looked to have their first Extreme E win of 2023 in the bag at the first Island X Prix race day on Saturday. Rosberg X Racing walked away with their first of the year instead.
Although RJ Anderson and Amanda Sorensen were the first to cross the finish in the Grand Final, they were dealt a 15.7-second time penalty for making too quick of a driver switch. To ensure safe swaps, teams are required spend at least 45 seconds completing the procedure, but CGR did so in 44.3 seconds. The 0.7-second difference added to the default fifteen seconds for the penalty.
This consequently dropped them to third behind RXR and ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team. Despite dominating in 2022 and winning the title the year before, RXR had stumbled to start the 2023 season, finishing third in both Desert X Prix races with penalties taking away the Race #1 win, followed by being at the bottom of the two Grand Finals in Scotland. Although they won a heat on Saturday, the difficulties seemed to continue when Johan Kristoffersson had a poor start to the Grand Final and crashed into bushes. Fortunately for him, he was able to rebound.
The win is RXR’s third in Sardinia after winning the 2021 edition and the second in 2022. RXR would have swept the 2022 doubleheader had it not been for penalties that dropped them to fifth.
“I came to a complete stop because I didn’t know if there were any stones in the bush, but I made it out,” said Kristoffersson. “My tactic after that was to drive as fast as I could, and I managed to pick up the pace.”
With their runner-up, ACCIONA | Sainz took over the points lead from Veloce Racing. The latter missed the Grand Final but salvaged points by winning the Redemption Race.
ABT CUPRA XE‘s run to the Grand Final was marred by a tyre puncture on the opening lap, preventing Sébastien Loeb and Klara Andersson from making much progress. Loeb, the defending XE champion, was racing as substitute to Nasser Al-Attiyah while the latter competed in the Italian Baja; Al-Attiyah had his own problems on Saturday as he received a two-minute epenalty for not following the roadbook and missing a waypoint.
Andretti XE failed to finish after Catie Munnings suffered a massive roll as RXR’s Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinksy passed her.
Grand Final results
| Finish | Number | Team | Total Time | Driver #1 | Driver #2 |
| 1 | 6 | Rosberg X Racing | 9:14.533 | Johan Kristoffersson | Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky |
| 2 | 55 | ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team | 9:16.143 | Mattias Ekström | Laia Sanz |
| 3 | 99 | GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing | 9:29.256* | RJ Anderson | Amanda Sorensen |
| 4 | 125 | ABT CUPRA XE | 11:49.023 | Sébastien Loeb | Klara Andersson |
| 5 | 23 | Andretti ALTAWKILAT Extreme E | DNF | Timmy Hansen | Catie Munnings |
Redemption Race results
| Finish | Number | Team | Total Time | Driver #1 | Driver #2 |
| 1 | 5 | Veloce Racing | 8:52.483 | Kevin Hansen | Molly Taylor |
| 2 | 58 | NEOM McLaren XE | 8:53.833 | Tanner Foust | Emma Gilmour |
| 3 | 44 | X44 Vida Carbon Racing | 9:02.357 | Fraser McConnell | Cristina Gutiérrez |
| 4 | 8 | Carl Cox Motorsport | 9:14.376* | Timo Scheider | Lia Block |
| 5 | 22 | JBXE | DNF | Andreas Bakkerud | Hedda Hosås |
Qualifying results
Round #1
Heat #1
| Finish | Number | Team | Total Time | Driver #1 | Driver #2 |
| 1 | 6 | Rosberg X Racing | 8:41.725 | Johan Kristoffersson | Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky |
| 2 | 125 | ABT CUPRA XE | 8:44.046 | Sébastien Loeb | Klara Andersson |
| 3 | 8 | Carl Cox Motorsport | 8:56.664 | Timo Scheider | Lia Block |
| 4 | 22 | JBXE | 8:58.678 | Andreas Bakkerud | Hedda Hosås |
| 5 | 44 | X44 Vida Carbon Racing | 9:18.029* | Fraser McConnell | Cristina Gutiérrez |
Heat #2
| Finish | Number | Team | Total Time | Driver #1 | Driver #2 |
| 1 | 23 | Andretti ALTAWKILAT Extreme E | 8:37.468 | Timmy Hansen | Catie Munnings |
| 2 | 55 | ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team | 8:46.773 | Mattias Ekström | Laia Sanz |
| 3 | 99 | GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing | 8:56.697 | RJ Anderson | Amanda Sorensen |
| 4 | 5 | Veloce Racing | 9:20.441 | Kevin Hansen | Molly Taylor |
| 5 | 58 | NEOM McLaren XE | 10:26.375 | Tanner Foust | Emma Gilmour |
Round #2
Heat #1
| Finish | Number | Team | Total Time | Driver #1 | Driver #2 |
| 1 | 55 | ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team | 8:41.327 | Laia Sanz | Mattias Ekström |
| 2 | 6 | Rosberg X Racing | 8:44.767 | Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky | Johan Kristoffersson |
| 3 | 5 | Veloce Racing | 8:47.461 | Molly Taylor | Kevin Hansen |
| 4 | 44 | X44 Vida Carbon Racing | 8:49.680 | Cristina Gutiérrez | Fraser McConnell |
| 5 | 8 | Carl Cox Motorsport | 8:58.682 | Lia Block | Timo Scheider |
Heat #2
| Finish | Number | Team | Total Time | Driver #1 | Driver #2 |
| 1 | 99 | GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing | 8:53.300 | Amanda Sorensen | RJ Anderson |
| 2 | 23 | Andretti ALTAWKILAT Extreme E | 8:59.984 | Catie Munnings | Timmy Hansen |
| 3 | 125 | ABT CUPRA XE | 9:02.260 | Klara Andersson | Sébastien Loeb |
| 4 | 58 | NEOM McLaren XE | 9:05.315 | Emma Gilmour | Tanner Foust |
| 5 | 22 | JBXE | 9:14.720 | Hedda Hosås | Andreas Bakkerud |
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