April 13, 2024
MISANO, Italy – Nissan Formula E Team’s Oliver Rowland kept up his fantastic run of podium finishes at the maiden Misano E-Prix, taking second place and the championship lead.
Travelling to Italy off the back of top-three results in Diriyah, São Paulo and Tokyo, the British driver put in a solid qualifying effort to start the first-ever E-Prix at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in fifth. In a race of attrition, Rowland managed his energy well and avoided contact in a tight event, breaking clear in the final few laps to narrowly miss out on victory and clinch second. Sitting on 73 points after also earning the Fastest Lap of the race, Rowland now leads the Drivers’ Championship by five points.
Meanwhile, Sacha Fenestraz battled hard in the mid-pack, and ran within the top-10 for a large portion of the race. In a closely-packed midfield, the Franco-Argentine driver claimed a point in 10th.
The team will look to back up today’s double-points finish in the second event of the double-header tomorrow, with qualifying set for 10:20 CEST (UTC +2) and the E-Prix at 15:00.
Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal, Nissan Formula E Team: “It’s an amazing feeling to be on the podium four times in a row. This doesn’t happen often in Formula E, so we are very proud of our performance so far. We didn’t expect this track to suit our car, but the team worked hard to find a strong set-up and adapt to the circuit, and all their effort paid off.
“Oli managed his race perfectly, picking the right gaps and always being in the ideal position. He pushed at the right time towards the end, managing to secure another podium finish for the team. On Sacha’s side, he worked hard in the pack and had a solid drive. He could have scored more points without a late technical issue, which we are looking into, but his pace was strong and we are happy to see him on a positive trajectory as well. I am very proud of the team overall, and it’s great to have both cars in the points. We have another race tomorrow and our target is to score points with both cars again, so we will keep our feet on the ground and remain focused.”
Oliver Rowland, driver, Nissan Formula E Team: “We’ve had a strong start to the year and we maximized our performance again today. We expected a tricky race on a track that requires high efficiency, but the car was great, we managed the energy well and the strategy was spot on. We had to adapt during the race as it was a chaotic one. The start was fast and I dropped back a few places, but quickly re-gained them. We were in a strong position for the second half, and once we matched our energy target we pushed on. We’re very happy with P2 today, it’s amazing to be leading the championship but there’s a long way to go so our full focus is on tomorrow.”
Sacha Fenestraz, driver, Nissan Formula E Team: “It was an up and down day, qualifying was extremely tight and we came very close to the Duels. We definitely made a positive step on our one-lap pace compared to the previous events. The race was a bit tricky, I found myself in a tough position when everybody started to pick up speed towards the end. We also lost a couple of places on the last lap after getting stuck behind a car that had run out of power, so we need to look into that. I’m happy to be back in the points, we’re still finding a way to put everything together and we’ll look to make improvements tomorrow.”
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About Nissan in Formula E
Nissan made its all-electric racing debut in Season 5 (2018/19) of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, becoming the first and only Japanese manufacturer to enter the series.
In Season 7 (2020/21), Nissan announced its long-term involvement in Formula E and its commitment to the Gen3 era, which will run from Season 9 (2022/23) through to the end of Season 12 (2025/26) of the all-electric racing series.
In April 2022, Nissan acquired the e.dams race team, with the Japanese automaker taking full ownership of its involvement in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
In June 2022, Nissan announced it would supply its Nissan EV powertrain technology to McLaren Racing for the entirety of the Formula E Gen3 era.
For Season 10 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the Nissan Formula E drivers will be Oliver Rowland and Sacha Fenestraz.
Nissan races in Formula E to bring the excitement and fun of zero-emission electric vehicles to a global audience. As part of its goal to achieve carbon neutrality across its operations and the life cycle of its products by 2050, Nissan intends to electrify every all-new vehicle offering by the early 2030s in key markets. The Japanese automaker aims to bring its expertise in transferring knowledge and technology between the racetrack and road for better electric vehicles for customers.
About Formula E
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship became the first global sport to be certified with a net zero carbon footprint from inception back in 2020, having invested in certified climate-protecting projects in all race markets to offset emissions from every season of electric racing.
All cars in the championship are powered by electricity, with the series acting as a competitive platform to test and develop the latest in electric technology.
The World’s greatest manufacturers race against each other on street circuits and Formula E promotes the adoption of sustainable mobility in city centres in a bid to combat air pollution and lessen the effects of climate change.