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NIO 333 Formula E Team - Round 9 Puebla E-Prix Report
Round 9 of the 2021 FIA Formula E World Championship in Mexico today produced another thrilling, action-packed contest at the Autodromo Miguel E. Abed near Puebla, however it was not to be the NIO 333 Formula E Team’s day.
Under a bright blue sky, Tom Blomqvist extracted an impressive Qualifying hot lap from the #88 NIO 333 FE 001 to secure P9 for the start of second race of the weekend. He fought hard throughout the race with a damaged car from multiple contacts during the fiercely contested opening laps. Eventually, Tom was forced to pit for a front wing replacement with only minutes left on the clock. Despite the team’s best efforts to get him back on track, he endured a further suspension failure due to the previous attrition and and was forced to retire.
Oliver Turvey had a frustrating run in the sister #8 NIO 333 Formula E Team challenger. After lining up in P20 for the start of the race this afternoon, he came to a premature halt mid-race due to a technical issue.
Tom Blomqvist, NIO 333 FE 001 #88
Qualifying Group 4 - Race Grid Position: P9 Round 9 Race Result: DNF
“There are some positives to take away from today. I think we made a step forward in terms of performance from yesterday, but we knew that the race was going to be a challenge for us and it was a complete mess from the start. I had a lot of contact in the first couple of laps and sustained a lot of damage, so I was driving with a bit of a wounded car. Unfortunately, I was dropping back because of that, I didn’t really have any pace, so we decided to come in to change some damaged parts – the front nose cone for example. We went back out to try and get a few more laps in, but then unfortunately we had a failure on the front corner which forced me to stop. It was a disappointing race, but there are some positives to take away as we made steps forward in some areas. We just need to keep cracking on, put the race behind us and move on to New York.”
Oliver Turvey, NIO 333 FE 001 #8
Qualifying Group 4 - Race Grid Position: P20 Round 9 Race Result: DNF
“It was a difficult day; we struggled to find a good feeling with braking ahead of Qualifying. I pushed as hard as possible during my quick lap which unfortunately forced me off track and I just scraped the barriers, collecting a wall banner halfway around the lap! The race start went well, and I managed to move forward on the opening laps, but then unfortunately we had a technical issue and I lost power, causing a red light so we had to retire the car. I’m sure the team will investigate the problem and we’ll come back stronger next time in New York.”
Christian Silk, NIO 333 FE Team Principal
“This morning I said that the engineers were working through various strategies ahead of the race to enable us to get the most out of today. Unfortunately, all our planning was in vane! Tom’s car was damaged very early on in the race after a multi-car incident dramatically upset his car’s balance and effectively ruined his chances. Near the end of the contest we brought the car in to change the damaged front wing and check the car over. We sent Tom out again to take the chequered flag, but unfortunately there was a failure and the car stopped on track. Oliver’s race at least started better, and he was running to plan at a competitive pace. However, we experienced a technical issue and had to retire the car. It was definitely not the day we’d hoped for, but that’s racing. However, it is very apparent that we have taken a step forwards in terms of performance today and both drivers have positive comments from the race. We will work hard to learn what we can from this weekend and we will come back stronger. As always, I would like to thank the team both at the track and back at mission control. I would also like to thank our fans - we are pushing to get the results we all crave.”
The FIA Formula E World Championship now heads to New York in North America for Rounds 10 and 11 of the all-electric racing series on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th July 2021.
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