Rosberg Team Takes Fifth Extreme E Victory In Sardinia Race 2
Rosberg X Racing won the fifth Extreme E in Sardinia's second part of the Island X Prix doubleheader.
Johan Kristoffersson's team and Mikaela Ahlin Kottulinsky's faced a difficult battle with Abt Cupra’s Nasser Al–Attiyah, and Jutta Klitzschmidt in final. The battle was ultimately futile after the latter was disqualified for safety system violations.
Al-Attiyah drove the Cupra entry at first. He made the best start, cutting Timmy Hansen from Andretti United right off the start.
RXR's Kristoffersson came in second, having initially taken an alternate line down middle with Sebastien Löb of X44. This was followed by third by Al-Attiyah. Al-Attiyah pulled ahead immediately, and held a 1.5 second lead at the 10th Waypoint. At the mid-race switch, Al-Attiyah had a 5.579s advantage.
The switch, however, was where Abt Cupra's day would fall apart, with Kleinschmidt leaving the pits with one of her safety belts not properly secured. Although she maintained her first position, Ahlin Kottulinsky was constantly harassing her.
Ahlin-Kottulinsky climbed up the inside to take the lead at the Waypoint 10 watersplash.
Abt Cupra's second placing on the road proved little of any significance as the team was disqualified following the conclusion of the race. That placed them second to X44’s Loeb & Cristina Gutierrez, who had already closed up to Kleinschmidt at race's end and were 8.227s behind race winners.
RACE WINNING MOMENT
Rosberg X Racing are a step above the rest as they WIN the NEOM Island X Prix II!#ExtremeE #IslandXPrix pic.twitter.com/PqcFSbNR05
Hansen and Catie Murnnings from Andretti United took third due to Abt Cupra being disqualified. Laia and Carlos Sanz of Acciona Sainz were placed fourth despite not finishing, Sainz pulling off at Waypoint 19 with a mechanical issue. McLaren's Tanner Foust (McLaren) and Gilmour were placed fifth.
RXR won the final match after a relatively easy semifinal win earlier in day.
Waypoint 3 won the first semi. Sara Price from Chip Ganassi Racing made contact with Sanz while trying pass.
While the move did gain her a place, moving her up to second, a right-rear suspension failure as a result of the collision left her disappearing into the undergrowth, ending the round two winners' race early. Race control quickly declared the incident a racing accident. RXR was able to secure its spot in final without any problems.
Jutta Kleinschmidt, Abt Cupra XE, leads Cristina Gutierrez, Team X44. Andrew Ferraro/Motorsport Images
The second semi was much more entertaining, with Kleinschmidt and McLaren’s Gilmour engaging in a thrilling battle for second on lap one as Gutierrez surged ahead.
Gilmour remained roughly within a second of the Dakar veteran until Waypoint 21 when she briefly got by but couldn't make the move stick. The gap between the two was just 0.84s. Both were 10 seconds behind X44. The race was not over yet.
Al-Attiyah immediately commenced a charge, more then halving X44’s leads, Loeb apparently suffering a problem with power.
He managed to stay in front, though only 4s ahead. Foust, who piloted McLaren's McLaren entry on the second lap, finished the race 19.453s behind the leader.
Andretti United secured its final berth in a thrilling Crazy Race.
Munnings had the strongest start. However, Veloce's Lance Woolridge, who took an alternative line from the start, pressed her hard during the first lap. After making contact on the merge from the differing start routes, Munnings ran wide at Waypoint 3 but remained resolutely out in front.
Woolridge tried another alternative line into 21, but despite cutting the lead to just 0.02 seconds, was still unable find a way past.
Four gates later, the pair made contact once again. Woolridge veered off course and won the Waypoint flag. He kept hold of second, but Munnings' lead was secured.
Lance Woolridge and Catie Mulnnings battle for the lead in Crazy Race! #ExtremeE pic.twitter.com/2S9VTfsLoi
- ExtremeE (@ExtremeELive), July 10, 20,22
After the driver change, an all Hansen duel was set up for the win. However, Kevin Hansen lost control of Waypoint 13 exit, and his elder brother, who was pushing for the lead, also took out a flag at the next gate. The JBXE team would be penalized 10s, but Veloce was also penalized for Woolridge's off track excursion. This didn't alter the outcome.
XITE Energy Racing failed the Crazy Race. Tamara Molinaro slipped off-track in Woolridge’s dusty aftermath. Timo Scheider eventually pulled off the track in the final sector of the second lap after a mechanical issue.