Diriyah Race 1 Report s8
The NIO 333 Formula E Team made a solid start to its 2022 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship campaign tonight when drivers Oliver Turvey, in the #3 NIO 333 001 challenger and series Rookie Dan Ticktum in the #33 took the chequered flag at the end of Race 1 of the Diriyah E-Prix in P19 and P18 respectively.
Under the unique track illuminations and spectacular Arabian night sky, the action was fast and fierce throughout the 45 minutes plus 1 lap contest. After some hard-fought battles by the 333 Racing driving duo, and plenty of drama throughout the 22-car field, the NIO 333 Formula E Team will now focus on tomorrow and the second round of the double-header event in the historic Ad-Diriyah location.
Oliver Turvey, NIO 333 FE 001 #3
Qualifying Group A – Race Grid Position: P19
Round 1, Race 1 Result: Provisional P19
“We were P6 after our first run in Qualifying and I did my best lap at the end of the session when the track was at its best. We were reasonably close to the cars ahead of us, so it was frustrating not to be a bit further up [the grid], but I think we had a reasonable session.
I got a fairly good start to the race. I managed to overtake a couple of cars in to turn 1 and then battled hard to keep them behind which I think probably cost me a little bit of energy at that point. I struggled for pace once the regen came in and concentrated on managing the energy while I was battling with Dan and Giovinazzi for a bit. We need to analyse the race tonight, see what we can learn from it and try and use that data tomorrow.”
Dan Ticktum, NIO 333 FE 001 #33
Qualifying Group B – Race Grid Position: P20
Round 1, Race 1 Result: Provisional P18
“We don’t feel that we quite optimised everything today in Qualy and the race; it’s obviously a very steep learning curve also from my side also. In Qualifying I was really hampered by the yellow flag on my last push lap and on the first run I didn’t really optimise myself, so you could argue that it was a bit my fault, but I was also unlucky. I was quite a lot up on my time, even after having to slow down at turn one, so I think we can be near the top 10 if I nail it. In the race, a couple of incidents in the first few laps made me over consume [energy] quite a lot and I nearly got put into the wall by one of the drivers, then I lost a few places which put me on the back foot really. But then I managed the energy relatively well and caught up and over-took both with Giovinazzi and Oliver. I have to say that I do feel quite comfortable in the car already, so I think tomorrow’s only going to be better. We’ll see, we just need to optimise everything a bit more.”
Russell O’Hagan, Deputy Team Principal, NIO 333 Formula E Team
“Ultimately it was a disappointing and unlucky day where we underdelivered on some really strong potential. Thankfully we get tonight to learn a few lessons and tomorrow to put them straight in to practice. I am really pleased with how the drivers and team are performing, so I know there is more to come. Outside of the obvious frustrations it’s been an enjoyable few days kicking off Season 8. It’s great to be back racing and both qualifying and the race provided some incredible entertainment. Roll on tomorrow!”
The all-electric street racing action starts all over again tomorrow afternoon with the third Free Practice session starting at 13:30 local time (10:30 GMT), Qualifying at 15:40 (12:40 GMT) and Race 2 at 20:03 (17:03 GMT) to conclude the Arabian event.
