Porsche driver André Lotterer hits second in Diriyah E Prix. Read more about it here
Porsche Works gets a cool start in the second Diriyah E Prix race after their driver André Lotterer secured a strong second place in the 2019/2020 season opener. The race was held at the 2.494 km long circuit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This was the debut race for Porsche in the world of electric motorsports. It was the first time that the brand participated in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship with the two eminent drivers, André Lotterer and Neel Jani.
“We are up with the frontrunners; the pace is there. We can build on that,” explained Michael Steiner, Member of the Executive Board for Research and Development Porsche AG.
Source: Porsche
After reaching the podium on the previous day, Lotterer finished in the sixth place in the second race. He had just a 3 seconds difference in lap time with the race winner, who happens to be BMW‘s Alexander Sims. But later on, Lotterer was given a drive-through penalty for not having noticed a car experiencing technical issues and doing a drive through. Thus he had to start from tenth place and finally finished 14th. Neel Jani (CH) however, moved up from the 18th spot to finish 13th.
ALSO READ: The Newly Appointed Porsche CEO Reveals His High Ambitions For Growth!
Amiel Lindesay (Head of Operations Formula E) said: “Following on from Friday’s success, that was another good race today. André once again made up some places as he moved through the field. Even though we did not manage to score any points at the end of the second race, it was a positive weekend for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team. We have gathered some valuable information and now we have to do our homework. I am happy for the whole team. The results give us confidence for the next races of the season.”
Source: Porsche
André Lotterer (Porsche 99X Electric, #36) told the media: “All in all, a great start to the season with the second place on Friday. We could have scored another eight points by finishing sixth today. Unfortunately, I was demoted after the race finished. I was just overtaking Pascal Wehrlein as the safety car appeared on the circuit. That was just really unlucky in terms of timing.”
Neel Jani (Porsche 99X Electric, #18) remarked: “It was a challenging second race but our pace was better than on Friday and it represents a big step forward for me personally. We all gained a lot of experience here and now we have to continue the hard work to ensure that we can benefit from that for the upcoming races.”
Source: Porsche
Lotterer was voted by the Formula E Fanboost to the top five on both the days. That indeed means a lotta additional kilojoules for the team. Two races down the chart, Lotterer ranks sixth in the drivers’ championship with 18 points. The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team also has the sixth spot in team standings. The next race would commence on January 18th, in Santiago de Chile. More details could be found here.
