Lola Yamaha ABT continuing to make improvements in the second Jeddah E-Prix

It was a more positive showing for Lola Yamaha ABT in the second Jeddah E-Prix, with improved pace and reliability.

Although qualifying was challenging, it was an improvement on Round 3 with Lucas starting the race in 16th and Zane lining up in 20th on the grid.

Starting further back on the grid, the team made the decision to try out two different race strategies to try to maximise race pace and give a positive result. Lucas took an early attack mode and stormed through the pack, making it up to P2, meanwhile Zane worked on saving as much energy as possible. Unfortunately, with these strategies relying on a safety car which didn’t occur, the race ended with Lucas finishing in 16th and Zane crossing the line in 18th.

Lucas di Grassi, #11:

“It was a much better day today, We made huge improvements in the car and in qualifying we managed to decrease the gap to P1 by half a second compared to yesterday. Then in the race I did the best I could, going from P16 to P2 but the efficiency is still not quite there and we couldn’t really stay in the top 10 and ended up dropping back to P16 at the end. Although that was frustrating, I think we learnt a lot this weekend, we collected a lot of good data for the break to study and improve and we’ll arrive stronger in Miami.”

Zane Maloney, #22:

“It was a challenging day for the team. After a difficult qualifying, we decided to split the strategy. In a peloton race like this with us being new as a manufacturer, we needed to try something different. On my side of the garage, we decided to save energy and hope for a safety car which would have put us in a very good position but of course that safety car never came. It was still a good learning experience for the team which will be valuable as we make improvements throughout the season. Overall I’m still happy with the weekend and with how I’ve been driving and working with the team. I’m looking forward to working hard, going over to Miami and doing a good job.”

Mark Preston, Motorsport Director, Lola Cars:

“Zane had a difficult qualifying although Lucas put us in a good position in the race to try some different strategies. It was fun watching Lucas come up through the pack and really get to use attack mode in all its glory, while Zane focused on energy saving. We were hoping for a safety car or other melee to ensue but unfortunately that was not the case. In the end it was a good race today and we got to really show our worth in terms of running two interesting strategies and we’ll come back in Miami following a test to hopefully move ourselves forward.”

Thomas Biermaier, CEO, ABT:

“It was a tough weekend on a new track with a high grip level, so again a lot of learnings for us. It’s positive that it looks like we have resolved the reliability issues and now we have to use the next six weeks until Miami to get more competitive again.”

The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship continues with Round 5 in Miami on April 12th.