By RaceScene Publisher on Sunday, 27 November 2022
Category: The Checkered Flag

X44 narrows Extreme E title battle as RXR disqualified

Rosberg X Racing looked like a juggernaut for much of their Extreme E championship defence, but a series of miscues in the Energy X Prix has blown the title battle wide open.

A poor showing in qualifying and a crash in their heat relegated RXR to the Crazy Race alongside fellow championship contender X44 Vida Carbon Racing. While precarious, it was not the end of the world for RXR as they simply needed to win the Crazy Race to clinch the title, but even that did not come to fruition. An early spin after contact with Tamara Molinaro forced Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky to regain lost ground, only to collide with Hedda Hosås and force JBXE into retirement. While RXR was able to repair the car in time, they were barred from continuing due to a switch bay violation.

With RXR out of the picture, X44 overcame their five-second chassis violation penalty and drove off to the Crazy Race win, which was cushioned by XITE Energy Racing receiving a thirty-second penalty for Molinaro’s incident with Åhlin-Kottulinsky. In order to leapfrog RXR for the championship, they need to finish at least second in the Final or third if they win the Continental Traction Challenge.

In the two Semi-Finals, Veloce Racing continued their strong weekend by winning the first while Andretti United XE took the second. ABT CUPRA XE and McLaren XE also punched their tickets by finishing second. ACCIONA | Sainz XE, who maintained an outside shot at the title entering the weekend, saw their hopes disappear after Laia Sanz rolled while trying to pass McLaren’s Emma Gilmour.

Race results

Semi-Final #1

FinishNumberTeamTotal TimeDriver #1Driver #2
15Veloce Racing10:36.604Molly TaylorKevin Hansen
2125ABT CUPRA XE10:43.520Klara AnderssonNasser Al-Attiyah
399Chip Ganassi Racing10:58.697*Sara PriceRJ Anderson
* – Received a penalty

Semi-Final #2

FinishNumberTeamTotal TimeDriver #1Driver #2
123Andretti United XE10:20.294Catie MunningsTimmy Hansen
258McLaren XE10:28.367Emma GilmourTanner Foust
355ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team10:36.411Laia SanzCarlos Sainz

Crazy Race

FinishNumberTeamTotal TimeDriver #1Driver #2
144X44 Vida Carbon Racing10:44.858Cristina GutiérrezSébastien Loeb
242XITE Energy Racing11:22.642*Ezequiel Pérez CompancTamara Molinaro
322JBXEDNFFraser McConnellHedda Hosås
46Rosberg X RacingDSQMikaela Åhlin-KottulinskyJohan Kristoffersson

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