Marrakesh E-Prix, Round 5 of the 2019/2020 ABB FIA Formula E Championship
Stuttgart. The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team has achieved another top-ten finish in Marrakesh (MA). In the fifth race of the 2019/2020 ABB FIA Formula E Championship, Porsche works driver André Lotterer (DE) crossed the finish line in eighth place. He had started the race from third position. In the second Porsche 99X Electric, Neel Jani (CH) took the chequered flag at the Marrakesh E-Prix in 18th place.
Lotterer dropped back to fourth on the opening lap, before returning to third in the opening phase thanks to a penalty imposed on the driver ahead of him. He fell back a further two places as the race progressed, before briefly battling up to fourth. Then, however, Lotterer slipped back to eighth position in the closing minutes. Jani experienced a largely uneventful race and improved somewhat from 23rd on the grid.
For the second time since his pole position in Mexico two weeks ago, Lotterer made it to the Super Pole in qualifying for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team. In the competition for the six fastest drivers, he posted a time of 1:17.253 minutes to secure third place.
After five out of 13 races, Lotterer now has 25 points and is twelfth in the drivers’ standings for the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team is ninth in the team championship, with the same number of points.
Reactions to the Marrakesh E-Prix
Amiel Lindesay (Head of Operations Formula E): “Our car was once again very strong in qualifying and the first half of the race went well too. Towards the end of the race, we had saved less energy than the cars around us which is why André (Lotterer) lost ground during the final two laps. We will take another look at that and analyse it carefully. Our aim for the future is to convert the strong qualifying performance into consistently good race results.”
Neel Jani (Porsche 99X Electric, #18): “During the previous races, our pace was good but we were unable to record the results we had aimed for. This time, it was difficult for me from the start. I did not feel right on the brakes at all during the day. We will examine that in detail. We still have plenty of races ahead of us. We will continue to work intensively and improve.”
André Lotterer (Porsche 99X Electric, #36): “Of course, we're happy to score these points in Marrakesh. Having started from third, we’d have liked to have finished better, but the second half of the race was not easy. Nonetheless, we were still able to learn a lot. We will draw the right conclusions from our experiences today.”
