PRESS RELEASE
NZ’s very own Mitch Evans secures his third victory of the season for Jaguar TCS Racing at the inaugural Jakarta E-Prix.
In South East Asia’s most populous city and in front of the Indonesian fans, Mitch Evans lined up third on the grid after a successful qualifying session saw him make it through to the semi-final stage of the Duels. In the hottest race of the season so far, the 27-year-old held his position as the lights went green. He then went on to overtake António Félix Da Costa before battling with Jean-Éric Vergne and Edoardo Mortara in an intense and strategic battle for the lead of the race. With six minutes to go, Mitch made a daring overtake on Jean- Éric Vergne to move back into first place of the Jakarta E-Prix and held the lead until the chequered flag fell.
The Kiwi also secured the fastest lap of the race with 1:09.786, demonstrating the pace of the Jaguar I-TYPE 5 in very challenging conditions.
Sam Bird also had a fruitful race, carving his way through the field from fourteenth to finish in ninth, securing valuable points for Jaguar TCS Racing. The British driver also demonstrated the pace of the Jaguar I-TYPE 5 throughout the duration of the race and made eight decisive overtakes in his march forward.
Mitch Evans remains fourth in the drivers’ standings, narrowing the gap to twelve points behind the leader Stoffel Vandoorne, while Sam Bird is twelfth. Jaguar TCS Racing sit fourth in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship teams’ standings.
James Barclay, Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal: “It’s been a fantastic day for the team here at the inaugural Jakarta E-Prix. A double-points finish and a win for Mitch in what was a really strategic and challenging race today is fantastic result for the team. It was incredibly close racing all the way through and required cool heads and a well-executed race and that is exactly what Mitch and the team delivered, I am very proud of everyone. As a proud British team and company we are also really honoured to dedicate this win to Her Majesty the Queen on her Jubilee weekend.”
Mitch Evans, Jaguar TCS Racing driver #9: “It feels amazing to get my third win of the season. Physically today was really quite difficult, the temperature and humidity were both really high, but we managed to get our strategy right for pretty much the whole race. The balance of the I-TYPE 5 was incredible, until the last five laps where I started to really struggle with my rear tyres. This was challenging as I needed to defend from Jean-Éric Vergne and Edoardo Mortara. Overall, the team delivered another amazing race for me and I’m really looking forward to Marrakech.”
Sam Bird, Jaguar TCS Racing driver #10: “It was a good result for me today to finish in ninth, particularly considering after lap one I had dropped down to P17. It’s an amazing result for Mitch and the team and clearly we have a really strong race package with the Jaguar I-TYPE 5. I just need to work on my Qualifying laps now and will hopefully bring home more points for the team in Marrakesh.”
The tenth round of the 2022 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship takes place in the Northern African country Morocco in Marrakesh on the 2 July 2022.
