Mitch Evans took his fourth podium of the 2023 ABB FIA World Championship for Jaguar TCS Racing, finishing third in the second race of the weekend.
Both Mitch and Sam Bird were in Group A for Qualifying. Mitch made it through to the semi-finals of the Duels, narrowly missing out on a place in the final to Jake Dennis by one thousandth of a second – one of the closest deficits in Formula E history.
Kiwi, Mitch, lined up in P3 on the grid, with Sam in P14. Before the lights went green, Sam suffered a technical issue, and was unfortunately unable to start the race.
Mitch held his position in the opening lap and then proceeded to rotate for the lead with Maximilian Günther and Jake Dennis. The Jaguar TCS Racing team worked tirelessly to improve the Jaguar I-TYPE 6 set-up and performance over the course of the weekend. A brilliant drive and well-executed race strategy meant Mitch was able to hold off the rest of the field for the final 15 laps of the race. In the end, the 28-year-old finished in the final podium position after the intense, 36-lap race in extremely challenging conditions.
Mitch is now back to fourth in the drivers’ standings, after a challenging tenth round in which he was forced to retire from the race while in eighth position, placing him fifth in the drivers’ standings. Sam is in eighth.
Jaguar TCS Racing remain third in the 2023 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship teams’ standings.
James Barclay, Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal: “After a challenging weekend, third place and a podium is a huge result, and testament to the massive effort the team have put in. We worked tirelessly to improve the car set-up and tyre management over the weekend, and Mitch delivered an exceptional performance both in qualifying and the race. It’s moments like this that define your Championship, I’m hugely proud of the team and Mitch for this turnaround. An unfortunate outcome for Sam today, we will look into the technical issue that ruled him out of the race. Our focus also now shifts to the inaugural Portland E-Prix, and we look forward to bringing this incredible all-electric race series to American fans.”
Mitch Evans, Jaguar TCS Racing driver, #9: “After yesterday’s race, to go home with a trophy and a smile is a huge relief and feels good. We lacked a lot of pace in the race and didn’t have as much energy as Max and Jake ahead, but I was able to hold off those behind me to come home on the podium. Looking forward to racing at the Portland E-Prix for the first time.”
Sam Bird, Jaguar TCS Racing driver, #10: “Another difficult day today for me. So far this year we’ve been so strong as a team, and won a lot of races, but this weekend we struggled to match the ultimate pace. The podium for the team was some silver lining for the team’s efforts. We’ll all be working really hard to make sure we head to Portland in the best place.”
The twelfth round of the 2023 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will take place on the streets of Portland, USA for the first time on Saturday 24 June.
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