British squad shows its mettle at opening Island X Prix in Sardinia

Veloce Racing claimed victory in the Redemption Race at the opening Island X Prix (8 July) in Sardinia, after the British squad fought back in fantastic style throughout the day.

The action had begun in unfortunate circumstances when the #5 ODYSSEY 21 suffered a puncture during Heat 2 of Q1, although the team did a magnificent job to change the tyre and recover with a fourth-place finish.

Kevin Hansen had shown race winning potential early in the bout as he fought in a three-way scrap for victory. The puncture towards the end of the Swede’s stint meant Molly Taylor had to just bring the car home to bank as many qualifying points as possible.

Facing an uphill challenge in Q2, both Taylor and Hansen produced a good performance to take third, albeit falling just short of making the Grand Final.

Veloce Racing remained fully focussed ahead of the Redemption Race, and particularly given its title standing and the race winning form shown in Saudi Arabia and Scotland, both Hansen and Taylor were gunning for victory.

The dynamic duo duly delivered as Hansen immediately blasted away from the pack when the race commenced, as a number of rivals tussled behind. A faultless run from Kevin ensured that Molly was able to hold a steady gap going into the final two laps, as the Australian kept the McLaren XE car at bay for the remainder of the contest.

It was a fitting end to a challenging day as Veloce Racing showed not only its title credentials but also the ability to bounce back from a difficult moment, as the 2023 XE campaign moves towards a pivotal phase.

Veloce Racing sit just two points off the championship summit at the midway stage of the season with the second Island X Prix taking place in Sardinia tomorrow.

Molly Taylor, Veloce Racing driver, said: “Everyone in the team stuck together after an unfortunate morning and we probably took the best points haul that we could after getting the puncture. We kept our heads and worked hard to win the Redemption Race and we will go again tomorrow.”

Kevin Hansen, Veloce Racing driver, said: “We were one of the quickest teams out there, but the luck wasn’t quite on our side this morning. We can be quite pleased, however, because to win the Redemption Race in such a good way shows that we can push for even better tomorrow.”

Daniel Bailey, CEO, Veloce Racing, said: “It’s about maximising your points haul when things don’t quite go your way, and we did exactly that today. But for the puncture we believe we would have competed for honours again in the Grand Final, but by winning the Redemption Race we have scored some important points in the overall race for the championship.”