Improvements in pace and superhero mechanics for Lola Yamaha ABT in second round in Berlin

It was an eventful second race in Berlin, where, despite superhero performances from the mechanics, incidents on track meant Lola Yamaha ABT missed out on points.

Free Practice Three was held under wet and challenging conditions but the Lola Yamaha ABT team was showing much improved pace from the day before. Unfortunately, Lucas di Grassi aquaplaned under braking, resulting in him crashing into the barrier and causing damage to the car which required large amounts of repairs and a new chassis, meaning he was unable to take part in qualifying.

Zane Maloney showed strong pace in qualifying, missing out on the duels by just four hundredths of a second when a seemingly fast lap was cut short when the session was red flagged, leading him to start in P14. Meanwhile, the mechanics put in a super performance to rebuild the #11 car and get it onto the grid for the start of the race.

In the race, both cars continued to show much stronger pace, both running in the top ten before a collision with Sérgio Sette Câmara meant Lucas missed out on the points while an MCU issue led to Zane being classified in 18th.

Lucas di Grassi, #11:

> “First

of all, the mechanics did a fantastic job today to get the car ready for the race. I had a big crash in FP3 under wet conditions where I aquaplaned and crashed into the wall, causing heavy damage to the car. Then we had a pretty good race starting from last and moving all the way up to P6 at one stage. We were in a place where points were very reachable up until two laps to the end when an incident meant we missed out on the final points positions. Overall, it was a good race and we look forward to using what we learned for the final races of the season in London.”

Zane Maloney, #22:

“It

was a difficult result in the end. The pace was much better than yesterday, the team made very good improvement in the wet conditions and then we got a bit unlucky with the red flag in qualifying, without which we could have potentially finished much higher. It was very much a peloton race and I think we did quite a good job putting ourselves in a position to maybe get a point or two until we had a technical problem. So, it was a hard result to take on the chin but we will and the team are continuing to improve. I think it’s clear where we need to work and make improvements. It’s going to take some time but we’re making all the progress we can and are looking forward to getting back out in London.”

Mark Preston, Motorsport Director, Lola Cars said: “In free practice this morning we saw performance improvements from yesterday with the setup changes the team made. Unfortunately, Lucas had a large accident which made a lot of work for our superhero mechanics who had to start straight away rebuilding the car to get it ready for the race. In qualifying, Zane missed out on the duels due to a red flag caused by an accident when he was unable to finish his lap, which was looking very competitive.

“In the race, Zane stayed with the front pack of cars and with a different strategy Lucas saved energy at the back of the grid. We had both drivers in the top ten but unfortunately at the end Zane had a problem with the MCU and Lucas had a coming together in the final laps which pushed him back to P12.”

Thomas Biermaier, CEO, ABT, said: “The day started quite positively, with both cars showing much better performance in Free Practice 3 compared to yesterday until Lucas had an accident. What the team then did was unbelievable, rebuilding the car to enable it to start on the grid. Lucas was fighting for points at the end but after an incident with Sérgio Sette Câmara, we lost the chance for points. Ultimately, it was a good comeback after yesterday and, in particular, after the accident and now we look forward to London.”

The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship concludes with a double-header in London on July 26th and 27th. Find out where to watch the action where you are here.