Mahindra Racing reign again in Marrakesh

Mahindra Racing reigned in Marrakesh once again as Jerome d’Ambrosio took a stunning win, after starting from tenth, to mark the second year in a row the Indian team has taken the spoils at the Moroccan track.

The Belgian professional driver, who scored a podium last time out in Saudi Arabia, and Pascal Wehrlein piloted the two M5Electros for Mahindra in the second round of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship. He is currently leading the driver standings with 40 points while Mahindra Racing are on second in team standings.

D’Ambrosio set a fastest lap of 1:18.440 to secure a fifth row after starting position from tenth. On the first lap, he deftly avoided a first corner mess to move up from his tenth place starting position to fifth. On lap 14 he passed DS Virgin’s Sam Bird for fourth and two laps later passed Bird’s teammate Robin Frijns to move into a podium finishing third place. The two BMW cars of Antonio Felix da Costa and Alexander Sims collided, allowing d’Ambrosio to race through into the lead.

A safety car then bunched up the pack, and the race resumed with only one lap to go. With a field full of drivers with eyes on the prize, the Belgian expertly kept his cool at the front and took the chequered flag as the victor.

“This is an amazing way to finish the second race. I’m so happy for the team; everyone has worked so hard and I’m proud to be a part of Mahindra Racing. I’m really happy and it’s great to be leading the championship early on. It’s a good motivational tool for everyone and now we have to keep on working hard. I’m really thankful for everyone to have given me a chance — today feels amazing,” de Ambrosio said after the win.

Wehrlein narrowly missed out on Super Pole on his Formula E qualifying debut, setting a lap time of 1:18.126 to line up seventh on the grid from the fourth row. He was forced into retirement after being hit on the first lap.

“It wasn’t the race debut that I wanted, but I’m very happy for the team to score this amazing win. This race and the last one in Saudi shows the team has the capability of great results this season and so that is a good positive to take away. I was happy with my qualifying and felt I could have done a better lap so the pace was there. Unfortunately, at the start of the race one particular driver was a bit over motivated on the first corner. It’s very frustrating but I will now focus on the next race in Santiago and working hard to prepare for that,” Wehrlein said.