YOKOHAMA, Japan – Nissan Formula E Team will be targeting a continuation of its strong recent results as the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship travels to Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli for Rounds 6 and 7 of Season 10.
Following Oliver Rowland’s positive performances in Diriyah, São Paulo and at the team’s home event in Tokyo, which has seen him clinch two pole positions and three consecutive podiums, the squad is in good spirits ahead of the first-ever Misano E-Prix.
While the Italian venue is sure to provide a different challenge, the team is buoyed by its current speed, also shown by Sacha Fenestraz’s strong race pace in Tokyo, where he climbed nine positions to almost score points.
Featuring adaptations to the usual Misano layout, most notably in the first sector and a chicane in place of a high-speed right-hand turn on the back straight, the 3.381-kilometre track is sure to challenge drivers and teams in different ways to recent venues. The high-speed nature of the 14-turn track will provide ample overtaking opportunities, particularly with energy management set to play a key role.
The weekend by the Adriatic coast also includes an FP0 session, designed for young drivers to taste Formula E machinery. Nissan Formula E Team’s reserve and simulator driver Caio Collet will get his first experience in the Nissan e-4ORCE 04, having previously clocked several hours on the team’s simulator.
Track action gets underway with FP0 and FP1 both on Friday, with qualifying at 10:20 CEST (UTC +2) and the E-Prix at 15:00 CEST on both Saturday and Sunday.
Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal, Nissan Formula E Team: “Our performance in the last three races has been strong, particularly on Oli’s side with the three podiums. We’ve scored good points and shown great pace, which proves our car is working well on different types of tracks. The speed is there, which is encouraging ahead of Misano, where we will face a new challenge. The layout isn’t like anything we’ve had so far this season, it’s quite fast and wide. Energy management will be a big deal for all the teams, so we will be looking to maximize our race pace while staying as efficient as possible, which is never an easy balance to achieve. It’s difficult to have consistency in this championship, but we’re managing to find it and we’re working hard to maintain it and continue this positive trend.”
Oliver Rowland, driver, Nissan Formula E Team: “This weekend presents a different type of challenge compared to what we’ve faced so far this season. It’s been a great few weeks for us with three podiums in as many races, which was beyond our expectations as a team. We’ve got to keep our feet on the ground and maintain this momentum. We’ve been very strong recently, especially in qualifying, but we need to keep taking it race by race and staying focused on the task at hand. We also have to optimize our car on several different types of circuits, which will be tough but important if we want to keep fighting at the front.”
Sacha Fenestraz, driver, Nissan Formula E Team: “It’s been a difficult start of the season for me, as a team we struggled in the first two rounds and then we worked it out a bit and the pace was much better. On my side, I’ve been making a few mistakes, which, due to the closely-fought nature of Formula E, has cost me some great opportunities. However, we are happy with our race pace. Now, my focus is on putting together a strong weekend from start to finish and getting back to fighting for the top positions. The Misano track looks interesting, we expect it to be a challenge with the energy management and a tricky weekend, but we’re aiming to score some important points so will keep focused and give our all!”
Caio Collet, reserve and simulator driver, Nissan Formula E Team: “I’m really looking forward to FP0 and the whole weekend with the team. I’ve been doing lots of simulator work, so I’m very happy to jump in the car and see how it compares to being in the sim. It will be a good experience for me and hopefully I can also help the team further. FP0 will be useful for learning about the track and the set-up before Oli and Sacha head out for FP1, so I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”
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