British squad keeps title within reach as Extreme E approaches season finale

Round 8 at the Island X Prix in Sardinia saw Veloce Racing miss out on a spot in the Grand Final following a DNF in Qualifying 1, before the British squad bounced back to claim victory in the Redemption Race.

The E.ON-backed team flew out of the blocks in the first race of the day, running in second place for the majority of Q1 H1, as Molly Taylor and Kevin Hansen picked up where they left off after Saturday's podium finish.

Taylor looked to have secured P2 with a commanding run - second quickest of all the females in the opening session - but a puncture alongside an electrical failure saw the team's ODYSSEY 21 grind to a halt at the final corner of the race. Unable to restart the car, Veloce Racing suffered an unexpected DNF.

Contact between ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team and Veloce Racing at the start of Q2 H2 put Taylor on the back foot before the first corner, as the Australian veered off-course and rejoined at the back of the pack. Not long after the Veloce Racing car came to a stop once again, but this time was able to restart and crawl through the remaining laps with broken power steering.

This would prove crucial for the Qualifying standings when ASXE’s ODYSSEY 21 also came to a stop out on-course. Unable to rejoin the Heat, Mattias Ekström was eventually passed by Hansen who took third for Veloce Racing. The final classification unfortunately saw the British team miss out on the Grand Final.

A dominant display from both Taylor and Hansen rewarded the duo with a win in the Redemption Race, salvaging eight points over the course of the day and keeping Extreme E title hopes alive as the championship heads into the Season 3 finale in Chile in December.

The Island X Prix double-header in Sardinia concludes with Veloce Racing holding onto third in the Extreme E championship standings, 21 points off ASXE at the top of the standings with plenty of points available in Rounds 9 and 10.

Daniel Bailey, CEO, Veloce Racing, said: “Winning the Redemption Race ensures we end the Island X Prix on a high in Sardinia, but we know there was the potential for so much more after yesterday’s podium finish.

“To head into the final round of the season with a shot at winning the championship is testament to the hard work put in by everyone at Veloce Racing over the past year, and we will be going all out to secure maximum points at the double-header in Chile."

Kevin Hansen, Veloce Racing driver, said: "Not really the day we wanted. We looked really good during the first Qualifying session, but then had a failure of on the electrical side which we didn't have any control over. In the second session we only had a small contact but it broke the power steering and from there we gathered back together nicely and made the right choices.

"In the Redemption Race I had a nice two laps, and was so happy to hand the car over to Molly in the lead. She did a great job to bring it home, so it was a great finish to the day and we're still in the championship race. We just need to give it everything we've got in Chile in two months time."

Molly Taylor, Veloce Racing driver, said: "It was a frustrating day for us having two mechanical failures that we were beyond our control. We didn't get the opportunity to do what we're capable of in Qualifying but the Redemption Race was a good indication. We executed everything well and collected some valuable points.

"We never give up and we're focussing on the next rounds with a package that we're feeling really good about. The speed that we've got is enough and we just need to control what we can control."

‍