Weekend of Mixed Fortunes for NIO 333 Formula E Team in Valencia

Round 6 of the ABB Formula E World Championship in Valencia was greeted with finer weather than yesterday and much improved results for the NIO 333 Formula E Team.

After qualifying strongly in Group 4, Oliver Turvey set the fifth fastest lap in the #8 NIO 333 001 during the team's second double 'Top Six' Superpole shoot-out this season. Team-mate Tom Blomqvist also set an impressive lap during his quick run in Group 4 and ultimately set his Formula E career best result in the #88 car with an impressive P4 on the Superpole time sheet.

From a second row ‘lock out’ by the NIO 333 FE team (after pre-race penalties), Oliver drove a hard-fought contest this afternoon, running up in P2 after his first Attack Mode. He took the chequered flag to score four valuable Championship points for the team in P8.

Tom made a valiant start from P3 and battled the quick mid-fielders for the duration of the 45 mins + 1 lap competition. He crossed the finish line in P17 to conclude the first ever Formula E electric racing weekend to be hosted in Spain.

Tom Blomqvist, NIO 333 FE 001 #88

Qualifying Group 4 - Race Grid Position: P5 (P4 after penalties applied) Round 6 Race Result: P8

“We had a great qualifying in the damp conditions. I managed to put in a good lap in the group session to make Superpole and then another great lap in the shoot-out. To end up P4, and on the second row, was a great position. We knew that the race was going to be tough in the full dry, with energy management here being critical. I think we got a good start; I was able to get ahead of Tom in the first corner and up to P3, and then the first part of the race was just managing the energy. I was able to keep the pace, but think we lost out a little bit in Attack Modes. However, we executed the race really well, got into a good rhythm and got the most out of the car. To come home in P8 and score points in a race with no incidents is a great result, so I have to really thank the team for all their hard work."

Oliver Turvey, NIO 333 FE 001 #8

Qualifying Group 4 - Race Grid Position: P4 (P3 after penalties applied) Round 6 Race Result: P17

“Qualifying was good, but we struggled in the race for pace. It was a disappointing result for me as we had qualified so well and started so far up the grid. However, we now have some time until the next event in Monaco to analyse the data and try to understand what we need to do to improve and convert our qualifying performance into the race.”

Christian Silk, NIO 333 FE Team Principal

“Formula E is nothing if not unpredictable, which I guess is great for the fans if a little tricky for the teams to manage. We made quite a lot of changes from how we ran yesterday as we really did not feel we were getting the most from the car. The changes we made definitely moved the cars towards improved performance which is great to see.

The morning session was wet, so it really was a chance to learn more about the performance of the car in the slippery conditions and we made good progress in this session which will stand us in good stead in future wet sessions. The qualifying track conditions really came to us as the circuit dried out during the sessions. Tom and Oliver grabbed the chance presented by the better track and both made it into Superpole, which is fantastic. The conditions worked against us in Superpole, but again the drivers did a great job to achieve a row two lockout.

The race ended up being very unusual and really taxed our engineers as we managed the performance of the car. Oliver made a great start and ran a really strong race fighting as high as P2. We struggled a little with pace at the end of the race, but it was really pleasing to see the NIO 333 car running so strongly and this gives us great hope going forwards. Tom got slightly bulked at the beginning and lost a couple of places at the start. Unfortunately, we had some issues with his car which prevented him showing his natural pace and we finished out of the points with that car. We will go through the data with a fine-toothed comb and determine exactly where the problem was.

I would like to thank all our fans for their support over the weekend. For us at the circuit it is really great to know people are following us and voting for Oliver and Tom with Fanboost.”

The all-electric racing series now heads to Monte Carlo, in the Principality of Monaco, for Round 7 of the 2021 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship on 8th May.