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NIO 333 Formula E Team – Round 10, New York City E-Prix Report
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship returned to New York City this week for Rounds 10 and 11 of the all-electric, street racing series.
Following an encouraging outing by the NIO 333 Formula E Team during qualifying, the first race of the weekend today brought mixed results for the British driving duo of Oliver Turvey and Tom Blomqvist.
Tom Blomqvist, NIO 333 FE 001 #88
Qualifying Group 4 - Race Grid Position: P14 Round 10 Race Result: DNF
“I started well in Free Practice 1, being second quickest, but we tried a few things that didn’t work in Free Practice 2. I think my Qualifying lap was pretty reasonable considering it was a bit of a scrappy lap and I clipped the wall. We had the pace to be in the top ten today so that was encouraging from the work we’ve done since that last race. I got a reasonable race start today, but then I got hit from behind and sustained a lot of damage to the rear end of the car on the first lap. The bodywork was rubbing on the tyre, which unfortunately compromised the race and damaged the tyre, so we had to pit and retire. It’s unfortunate because we have lost that set of tyres now for tomorrow, but we’ll give it our best shot and see what we can do.”
Oliver Turvey, NIO 333 FE 001 #8
Qualifying Group 4 - Race Grid Position: P17 Round 10 Race Result: provisional P16
“This Championship is so close, so competitive. I didn’t do a great lap in Qualifying; it was a bit messy which cost me a few tenths, so with a clean lap we could have been a few places higher. But ultimately, we are getting closer every race just missing a bit of pace at the moment. Although I finished 16th I should have been a few places higher if I’d had a better first two laps. We're going to keep our heads down and try to improve in Qualifying tomorrow so that we can start further up, which ultimately makes our life just a little bit easier in the race.”
Christian Silk, NIO 333 FE Team Principal
“Our pace during Free Practice 1 and 2 was certainly very positive, and we were generally confident going into Qualifying. The comments from the drivers were better than they have been of late, and it seems as though the hard work from the team since the last race is paying off with improved car balance, especially under braking. Unfortunately, we failed to capitalise on our pace and our Qualifying positions were far from where we wanted them to be, so we knew we had a lot to do in the race.
Oliver was slightly compromised by starting on the dirty side of the grid which always makes the pull away slower. Through good race craft he managed to keep track position during the first part of the opening lap of the race. Unfortunately, he was tagged by another car going into T10, resulting in a lot of damage to the rear of the car. He continued for a couple of laps, but it was obvious that we needed to box the car and preserve it for tomorrow.
Tom’s start was cleaner, and his first part of the race ran to plan. He settled into a good rhythm and we were looking to capitalise on any problems ahead of this. Unfortunately, Tom got held up in a train of cars with little chance of overtaking and he came home in P16.”
The action starts all over again tomorrow with the third Free Practice session for Round 11 starting at 07:15 local time (12:15 BST), Qualifying at 08:15 (13:15 BST) and the Race at 13:34 (18.34 BST) to conclude the New York City event.
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