The Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy launched last weekend, as a support race for the FIA Formula E Championship.
Jaguar’s gone racing last weekend. That’s probably not much of a surprise. But what might be is which vehicle they’ve chosen to send to the track. It’s an SUV. But it’s not just any SUV, it’s the least likely one of all. The electric I-Pace has launched a new spec-series of electric racers. The Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy launched last weekend, as a support race for the FIA Formula E Championship.
The I-Pace eTrophy started with a race in Ad Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. With heavy rain in one of the places you might least expect it, qualifying was rained out. That meant the starting grid was set based on the results of Friday practice.
New Zealander Simon Evans, a long time V8Supertourer racer took the win from the pole, leading 23 minutes plus a lap.
Jaguar notes that the race was the first time men and women competed together in Saudi Arabia. Drivers Alice Powell, Katherine Legge, and Célia Martin finished fifth, sixth, and eleventh, respectively.
Alice Powell said: “The pace was there for me in the first half of the race which is fantastic. In some ways I didn’t expect it, given our times in practice. I knew I had to make my way up in the first four laps, so in the first couple I made my moves and from then on, the car was fantastic. It’s been great to race in Saudi Arabia and hopefully it will inspire some more women to get racing – a big thank you to Jaguar for the opportunity.”
In the main Formula E event, Panasonic Jaguar Racing brought their open wheel cars to a pair of points finishes. The first race of the season debuted the new I-Type 3. The new generation of cars have powertrains designed by the car manufacturer for the first time, along with a battery range that means just one car per driver and no mid-race car swap as in the past.
Mitch Evans, I-Pace driver Simon’s brother, finished fourth with teammate Nelson Piquet Jr. in tenth.
The inaugural race of the fifth Formula E season saw Antonio Felix Da Costa’s BMW take the top spot with Jean-Eric Vergne in a DS Techeetah second, following some late-race penalties to other drivers for too much regen braking.
The I-Pace eTrophy continues in Mexico City Feb 16th, while Formula E resumes January 12 in Marrakesh, Morocco.
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