Analysing the Ocean X – Prix races and performances. Each race’s unique moves and moments and the strategies and factors that played into them.
The races in Senegal where tagged as an improvement from Saudi Arabia by almost everyone but what was behind such exciting races, what were the strategies followed by the teams and what kind of driving style was seen, what challenges come from them and what can be seen in the future? Complete race by race analysis with a completely analytical only summary at the end.
SEMI – FINAL 1
The first Semi – Final, the one between the fastest 3, and it was a semi – final worth watching with chances of overtakes throughout the two laps and racing so close that there was tension in the drivers’ and the team members’ minds till the end of the race. The race might have changed a lot during the switch between the drivers at the end of Lap 1 as ABT Cupra weren’t able to get out easily after the championship driver was unable to move the car in time but from the start till the end, there were several areas where the race changed and were the ending was decided.
The start of the race was a spectacle to watch as Kristoffersson was on the attack and Loeb got caught out a bit and it was Erkstorm who took the advantage of that fight and took the lead and Kristoffersson who wasn’t revealing much about if he would be able to make moves like the one in Saudi, did make a move like that as he went wide and then with a good speed and a good angle of attack crossed Loeb to take the second position and close the gap to Erkstorm but he wasn’t able to make another overtake but stayed close as he controlled his car without making any errors. The car was not as fast as it looked in Saudi and a lot comes down to the settings which the team seemed to be having problems with throughout the weekend. That send by Kristoffersson into the first turn meant that Molly Taylor just had to make one position, but that would also not be easy as a very very experienced driver was going to take the wheel for ABT Cupra Racing.
But that was not an issue anymore after the mess up in the Switch Zone which awarded RXR the lead, and X44 the second position, and the two drivers now had to just maintain their position as coming 1st or second doesn’t make any difference atleast when it comes to the points or the overall results as both qualify for the finals and don’t get any extra points for finishing ahead in the Semi – Final. Molly Taylor maintained a good gap, a gap that continued from Lap 1 to Lap 2. The driver pushing to close a gap was Jutta who was trying to get that second position but was unable to make up what had become a fairly good gap of more than 4 seconds and hence, as it was a situation of no loss, tried to even take a different line but that line was too wide and with the speed she had, it rather increased the gap but she fought till the end and she was the fastest second driver in that race afterall. In some sectors she benefitted from staying a little behind the other drivers which meant that she had more space in front of her as well.
SEMI FINAL 2 A.K.A CRAZY RACE
The Crazy Race was crazier and had both worlds in it. It had the world of an ever – extending comfortable lead and the world of very close racing with contact and aggression. Kevin Hansen had a very very good start and was able to carry that lead into Turn 1 and then as the other two got busy fighting for their position, and did not have enough speed was able to continue with a good clean lap and extended his lead to more than 21 seconds. He was speed, as he did a lap with good speed and putting fastest section after fastest section and went sub 5 minutes on his lap and that was the extreme racing from his side but the main driver to get an advantage from the driving and fighting of her rivals was his teammate who extended the lead further to win the race cleanly.
But the fighting was not uninteresting also at all. As both the teams struggled with some pace, especially Veloce it seemed that XITE energy might just be able to get into the Final Race but Jamie Chadwick was showing some good defending skills as everytime it looked she was about to be overtaken, she was able to drive well and keep calm and keep control to stay ahead. For XITE ENERGY Racing, Oliver BENNET was pushing hard and was especially trying to be faster in sections were Chadwick was braking and slowing down but this meant that when Bennet had to slow down, Chadwick who has experience with close racing was able to pull herself ahead until the final part where it seemed that Veloce were having some issues with the bumpy section towards the end of the lap, as a similar event happened on both the laps, and Chadwick was finally overtaken but the more experienced Stéphane SARRAZIN was able to retake that position on the second lap after a charge through the lap, from Christine GZ who hasn’t been on pace from Round 1.
SHOOTOUT
The shootout was all about the performance from Kyle LeDuc who was looking for redemption and drove just like he did in Qualifying to make two overtakes in one lap. Kyle LeDuc going second for Chip Ganassi helped them strategically as he is very fast and was able to make up those two places, it would have been a problem if he would have gone first and then Sara Price, who although did not disappoint in the race, had a higher chance of losing the lead. LeDuc was jsut sumpreme through the whole weekend, and was also the fastest through the Super Sector. He needs just one good weekend, and he might win the final race.
FINAL RACE
The Final Race was mainly all about the run down to the first turn as JBXE encountered issues by then and the nature of racing by RXR, which is slightly aggressive especially against their main rivals X44, continued and that led to issues for the X44 team for whom their driver who unable to sustain the pressure, and after contact had to take emergency action which did not end well. After that RXR had a clear path to victory with the pace of Veloce. JBXE did come third based on the fact that they covered more distance of the race, as compared to X44 but the issue that they faced should be looked into as that issue is one that is not welcome at all, and should occur in the manner it did especially as Extreme E plans to tackle even more extreme and rocky terrains. Carlos Sainz Sr. has expressed his concerns about the car and all drivers generally also do want it to be a bit more durable, which is how it should be otherwise the easiest way to win a race will be to just simply put your opponent on the very rough line.
All in all, the racing was extreme but there a lot of things that need to be looked into and understood. RXR have the benefit of have two drivers, who are both fast but one has very good control on his car and has a good understanding of which lines to pick whereas the other driver is able to fight it out for position with moves that can surprise the other driver. X44 have simply got two fast drivers. Segi TV Chip Ganassi Racing have some bad luck but there is one more area where they need to work and that is settling themselves with the car and understandings its limits a bit more. Veloce have a case of a driver who needs some time settling into off – road racing even more but on tracks that do not have features such as so much dust, she might be able to perform better. And JBXE have got Kevin Hansen in place of Jenson Button and seeing him replace Jenson Button permanently as a driver will be no surprise as he has considerable amount of off road racing experience and BAJA experience whereas for Jenson Button, adjusting to 4 wheel drive is also definitely a challenge.
spielens 