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Both drivers finished the race, NIO 333 needs more time and efforts to achieve the target
NIO 333 Formula E Team endured a challenging weekend in the 5th round of the 2019 - 2020 FIA ABB Formula E championship. The Chinese team faced various problems during the series’ only visit to the continent of Africa as Oliver Turvey and Ma Qinghua continue to battle through difficulties and finished the race in 21st and 23rd place.
The team showed some progress in the two free practice sessions. British star Oliver Turvey ranked 16th and 19th to show the team’s potential to fight well within the midfield. However, the Qualifying session did not go to plan for the Chinese team, Oliver Turvey and Ma Qinghua started from the19th and 21st on the grid.
The race commenced in the typical Moroccan sunshine. With the extremely close fight in the midfield and the tightness on energy management, the team knew there were still chances in the race. However, Oliver Turvey had to serve a drive through penalty due to a technical infringement and Ma Qinghua had also visited the pit lane for a jump start. Failing to engage in the close fights, the team had to accept the tough race.
After the challenging race, the team operated by Chinese motorsport industry giant Lisheng Racing Co. LTD knows there is still a distance to the automotive giants of the world participating in Formula E. However, more experience on track means more valuable data to help the team move forward. The Chinese team knows miracle won’t happen overnight, and it takes time and effort to achieve the target.
The team will utilise a 5-week break before the Rome ePrix to continue its catch up.
Oliver Turvey, Race Driver, NIO 333 Formula E Team – Quote:
“I think we did a good job as a team in Free Practice to find improvements in the car, in terms of set up and also in the software setting for flying laps. I was really pleased with my Qualifying lap to get into the Super Pole, to qualify P5 was an amazing achievement in our second weekend as a team. In the race, we had a good start. I managed to get up to P4 and hold my position for the opening laps. As the race evolved, we were a bit struggling on race pace, and had few issues in the car. It was tough to keep the pace, we will analyze the race and learn from it and come back stronger in the next round.”
Ma QingHua, Race Driver, NIO Formula E Team – Quote:
“It's a tough weekend struggling for the pace the whole time. Unfortunately due to a system error, I wasn’t able to show my best performance today. I’m happy to be able to finish the race. The team put in quite a lot of effort today and we can see some improvements. We will keep fighting.”
Vincent Wang, CEO, NIO 333 FE Team – Quote:
"Formula E is a fair race and from the result of this weekend, there is quite a gap between us and the other competitors. However, internally we have been able to fix some fundamental issues and see quite an improvement in reliability after these races. But Rome was not built in a day. We will make our best effort to close the gap until we could match them. I would also like to thank our two drivers and the work they have done. "
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