Jaguar’s James Barclay: “We cannot rely on what we did last year”

Jaguar TCS Racing head into this weekend’s Jakarta E-Prix double-header right in the mix for the Constructors’ Championship, with the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship starting to reach the business end of the campaign.

Jaguar head to Southeast Asia on the back of another podium in Monaco three weeks ago after Mitch Evans finished second, whilst Sam Bird finished sixteenth following a five-second time penalty. The result kept Evans right in the fight for the Drivers’ Championship, whilst the Coventry-based team sit third in the Constructors’ Championship – twenty-five points behind Envision Racing.

The British side will be feeling confident ahead of the double-header not only because they’ve claimed five podiums in the last four races, but also because Evans won the inaugural race in the Indonesian capital last season.

Given that Evans’ win in Jakarta last season came whilst driving Gen2 machinery, Team Principal James Barclay has admitted that the team “cannot rely” on how they claimed victory in 2022, with the team boss noting that compared to last season, this weekend is a “reset”.

 “While we’ve had some fantastic races recently – both for Jaguar TCS Racing and our customer team, we are not complacent and our focus is firmly set on having two strong races in Jakarta. It’s a difficult race to manage as it can be physically tough for the drivers, the team and the car with high temperatures and humidity.

“It’s always good to return to the scene of success but we are realistic that with a new race car, the Jaguar I-TYPE 6, and the new Hankook tyres it is a reset, and we cannot rely on what we did last year. As with all the races so far this season, tyre and energy management will be really important and success will require a perfectly executed race, but we’re looking forward to the challenge.”