Jake Dennis was ‘super happy’ after securing his second victory of his rookie ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season on Saturday as the Briton won race one of his home London E-Prix.
The BMW i Andretti Motorsport driver came out on top of a great battle with countryman Alex Lynn to take victory at the Exhibition Centre London (ExCeL), the first race in the unique part indoor, part outdoor track within London Docklands.
After getting ahead of Lynn when the Mahindra Racing driver took his second attack mode, Dennis was then able to control the race from the front and bring himself firmly into championship contention. It was his second victory of the season after triumphing in the Valencia E-Prix in April.
“I am super happy. I pretty much didn’t know what to expect going into the race,” said Dennis. “It was a little bit different to normal, with really not much energy-saving going on.
“It was obviously an intense battle with Alex Lynn; I was trying to put him under pressure. We took the risk to stay up in front when he took his second attack mode. I knew I could keep him behind, but I didn’t know if it would work out better or not.
“Luckily he made a small mistake and then it was about three qualifying laps to pull the two-second gap before I went for my second attack mode. Then it was just a matter of bringing it home when we got the lead.
“We had really severe vibrations on the right rear. It was probably in the last 15 laps of the race. I was generally not taking any kerb just to make sure to bring it home. Now being third in the championship is far more than I expected at the beginning of the season.”
Dennis’s victory meant he was in the unfavoured group one for Qualifying for Sunday’s second race, and as a result, he was unable to replicate his front row start from Saturday and started down in seventeenth.
However, Dennis was able to make gains during the race and secure tenth place despite a drive through penalty, which became ninth after Lucas di Grassi was disqualified. The result ensures he goes into the final two races of the season in Berlin next month with a good shot at the title.
“Overall, we can be very happy with our weekend,” said Dennis. “We scored points twice and had a win to celebrate. My car behaved really well from FP1 to the final race on Sunday.
“We were superfast in each session. I don’t think that we were ever outside the top five, apart from during qualifying of course. We moved up from seventeenth to seventh place and then I got a drive-through penalty, so that was a bit of a shame.
“But overall, it was a great weekend. Now I am looking forward to Berlin.”