Attrition and low visibility due to rain and mud were key issues in Sunday’s Hydro X Prix, but Veloce Racing was not fazed in the slightest as Kevin Hansen and Molly Taylor won their second heat and led all four laps of the Grand Final to secure their second win of the Extreme E season. While it has only been four races, Veloce is already the first team in 2023 with multiple victories after taking the season opener.
In their new red livery, Veloce held off a late charge from McLaren XE, who had to settle for second in their first final of the season. Although they came up short of victory, runner-up was still a strong rebound for McLaren after being among the many victims of the heat races; during the first lap of Heat #1 in Qualifying #2, Emma Gilmour drifted into the hay bales while racing Timo Scheider who also crashed into them as did Klara Andersson while trying to avoid them.
“We had a tough weekend, much tougher than Saudi Arabia,” said Hansen. “We didn’t really have anything on our side yesterday, so to finally get into the Grand Final and have all our support on GridPlay really helped.
“It was nice after Friday, with our double P1s in Free Practice, to come back and actually get on top. It was a huge effort from the team to pull through in such difficult conditions. They gave me full rein for an hour before the Final and quick decisions on set-up and everything. It was really cool to pull it off.”
Chip Ganassi Racing joined Veloce and McLaren on the podium as the last finisher. ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team and Rosberg X Racing had wrecked together, with RXR’s Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky describing the race as a “mud-blinded final with wipers out of action”.
Saturday winner X44 struggled on Sunday as they fell behind in the first heat due to damage before crashing out of the Redemption Race. Carl Cox Motorsport failed to start the latter following the aforementioned heat accident.
Grand Final results
Finish | Number | Team | Total Time | Driver #1 | Driver #2 |
1 | 5 | Veloce Racing | 12:52.662 | Kevin Hansen | Molly Taylor |
2 | 58 | NEOM McLaren XE | 12:59.082 | Tanner Foust | Emma Gilmour |
3 | 99 | GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing | 13:13.153 | RJ Anderson | Amanda Sorensen |
4 | 55 | ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team | DNF | Mattias Ekström | Laia Sanz |
5 | 6 | Rosberg X Racing | DNF | Johan Kristoffersson | Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky |
Redemption Race results
Finish | Number | Team | Total Time | Driver #1 | Driver #2 |
1 | 22 | JBXE | 12:19.448 | Andreas Bakkerud | Hedda Hosås |
2 | 23 | Andretti ALTAWKILAT Extreme E | 12:24.416 | Timmy Hansen | Catie Munnings |
3 | 125 | ABT CUPRA XE | 12:49.982 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Klara Andersson |
4 | 44 | X44 Vida Carbon Racing | DNF | Fraser McConnell | Cristina Gutiérrez |
5 | 8 | Carl Cox Motorsport | DNS | Timo Scheider | Christine GZ |
Qualifying results
Round #1
Heat #1
Finish | Number | Team | Driver #1 | Driver #2 |
1 | 99 | GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing | RJ Anderson | Amanda Sorensen |
2 | 6 | Rosberg X Racing | Johan Kristoffersson | Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky |
3 | 125 | ABT CUPRA XE | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Klara Andersson |
4 | 44 | X44 Vida Carbon Racing | Fraser McConnell | Cristina Gutiérrez |
5 | 8 | Carl Cox Motorsport | Christine GZ | Timo Scheider |
Heat #2
Finish | Number | Team | Driver #1 | Driver #2 |
1 | 55 | ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team | Mattias Ekström | Laia Sanz |
2 | 58 | NEOM McLaren XE | Tanner Foust | Emma Gilmour |
3 | 5 | Veloce Racing | Kevin Hansen | Molly Taylor |
4 | 22 | JBXE | Andreas Bakkerud | Hedda Hosås |
5 | 23 | Andretti ALTAWKILAT Extreme E | Timmy Hansen | Catie Munnings |
Round #2
Heat #1
Finish | Number | Team | Driver #1 | Driver #2 |
1 | 99 | GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing | Amanda Sorensen | RJ Anderson |
2 | 58 | NEOM McLaren XE | Emma Gilmour | Tanner Foust |
3 | 22 | JBXE | Hedda Hosås | Andreas Bakkerud |
4 | 8 | Carl Cox Motorsport † | Timo Scheider | Christine GZ |
5 | 125 | ABT CUPRA XE † | Klara Andersson | Nasser Al-Attiyah |
Heat #2
Finish | Number | Team | Driver #1 | Driver #2 |
1 | 5 | Veloce Racing | Molly Taylor | Kevin Hansen |
2 | 23 | Andretti ALTAWKILAT Extreme E | Catie Munnings | Timmy Hansen |
3 | 44 | X44 Vida Carbon Racing | Cristina Gutiérrez | Fraser McConnell |
4 | 6 | Rosberg X Racing † | Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky | Johan Kristoffersson |
5 | 55 | ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team † | Laia Sanz | Mattias Ekström |