Lola Yamaha ABT added to its points tally after Lucas di Grassi finished in 5th place in an action-packed race on the streets of Tokyo.
• Lucas di Grassi has scored 10 valuable points for the team in its second home race in Tokyo
• Lucas finished in 5th after a strong performance, having qualified in 6th
• Zane Maloney also made up a place from where he started on the grid, finishing in 14th
Lola Yamaha ABT added to its points tally after Lucas di Grassi finished in 5th place in an action-packed race on the streets of Tokyo.
For the second time, Lucas made it through to the duels after topping the time sheets in group A, before losing out to Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske) in the quarter finals, ultimately starting from 6th on the grid. Teammate Zane Maloney lined up on the grid in 15th, having missed out on the duels by less than three tenths.
Although initially losing places and dropping to 12th, Lucas worked his way back up the field under Attack Mode and, following a full course yellow flag, he managed to use his second Attack Mode to secure 10 points for the team. Zane struggled to maximise an early Attack Mode and after his second stint with the extra 50kW was cut short by a safety car, Zane finished in 14th.
Lucas di Grassi, #11
“This is a great result made particularly special by being in Japan, the home race of our partners Yamaha, where we had a lot of local fans cheering us on. To be the fastest in our group in qualifying and then to be able to fight in the race with all these teams who have been in the sport for many years when we are just starting is a great achievement. Tokyo is a totally different track to Miami where we achieved our first podium so it’s important for the team to score points here, in a tough race, and show we have the pace to be competitive everywhere.”
Zane Maloney, #22
“Well done to the entire team and Lucas for a great result on the second day here in Tokyo. From my side, we just missed those last three tenths in qualifying which in Formula E, when things are so close, means a lot of places. Unfortunately, in the race we didn’t quite have the pace to come up the field. It was a difficult weekend from my side but we did show good pace in the wet and the dry. The team is improving every weekend, the potential is growing and I’m learning a lot each race. I’m looking forward to Shanghai and doing the best job we can there.”
Mark Preston, Motorsport Director, Lola Cars
“There’s always added pressure for a team at a home race but everyone did a great job and Lucas was calm and drove very well to score our second set of points. Although not without its challenges, we are coming away from the double-header in Tokyo feeling even more positive about the pace and potential of the Lola T001 and look forward to hitting the track in Shanghai to hopefully add to our points tally.”
Thomas Biermaier, CEO, ABT
“In general, it was a positive weekend. On Friday, in terms of pace, we showed we were competitive in dry conditions. Saturday was difficult with the weather and no qualifying, so the result was not what we would have hoped for. The good thing with a double header is we get another chance and today was a very positive day, executed well from the whole team with Lucas doing an amazing job on track. We scored some important points in front of many of our friends from Yamaha and we look forward to being in Shanghai in two weeks.”
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship continues on May 31st and June 1st, when it returns to the Shanghai International Circuit.
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