Formula E: Andretti BWM’s Dennis wins Valencia race 2 pole
BMW i Andretti Motorsport’s Jake Dennis rocketed to a maiden Julius Baer Pole Position ahead of the DHL Valencia E-Prix Round 6, firing clear of Andre Lotterer (TAG Heuer Porsche) and Alex Lynn (Mahindra Racing), though a prior penalty for Lotterer sees the German line-up a net fifth.
Jake Dennis (BMW i Andretti Motorsport) fired 0.8 seconds clear of Andre Lotterer (TAG Heuer Porsche) to take Julius Baer Pole Position for the DHL Valencia E-Prix Round 6 with a drying track rewarding those last on-track in qualifying.
The Brit was joined by four of his compatriots in Super Pole and took full advantage of a drying circuit, firstly as a Group 4 runner in Group Qualifying and secondly as the final driver to complete his lap in the six-driver shootout for pole.
He was precise and measured, and dug out a 1m28.548s as times tumbled towards yesterday’s quickest times with the morning sun in Valencia burning off the remaining damp patches around the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. That was well clear of the previous man on-track, Andre Lotterer, who would again line up on the front-row but for a penalty for an incident involving Edo Mortara in Round 5 which sees the Porsche driver start fifth.
“I am so happy, it’s such a relief after a difficult start of the season,” said Dennis. “We’ve put it all together and it’s the first race weekend where we’ve had no issues and I’m super happy for everyone who’s put in the hard work overnight.”
Alex Lynn starts a net second in the Mahindra, and the Brit hooked the lap up nicely to fire almost half-a-second clear of those that came before, with NIO 333 duo Tom Blomqvist and Oliver Turvey lining up third and fourth, Lotterer fifth, while ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Norman Nato rounds out the top six.
DS TECHEETAH’s Jean-Eric Vergne takes seventh spot despite running early on in Group 2, with Oliver Rowland and Nissan e.dams teammate Sebastien Buemi eighth and ninth and early pacesetter Sergio Sette Camara (DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT) completed the top 10.
Drivers’ standings leaders – Mercedes-EQ duo Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries – find themselves well down the order in 18th and 19th, with third-placed man Sam Bird (Jaguar Racing) just behind in 20th.
Jake Dennis BMW i Andretti Motorsport Julius Baer Pole Position Valencia E-Prix Round 6
Valencia Race 2 Lineup
Pos | Name | Team | Car | Group 1 | Group 2 |
1 | Jake Dennis | BMW i Andretti Motorsport | BMW iFE.21 | 1m31.855s | 1m28.548s |
2 | André Lotterer | TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E | Porsche 99X Electric | 1m31.958s | 1m29.411s |
3 | Alex Lynn | Mahinda Racing | Mahindra M7Electro | 1m32.585s | 1m29.737s |
4 | Tom Blomqvist | NIO 333 Formula E Team | NIO 333 001 | 1m32.727s | 1m30.202s |
5 | Oliver Turvey | NIO 333 Formula E Team | NIO 333 001 | 1m32.95s | 1m30.403s |
6 | Norman Nato | RokIT Venturi Racing | Mercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 02 | 1m33.155s | 1m30.489s |
7 | Jean-Eric Vergne | DS Techeetah | DS E-Tense FE21 | 1m33.198s | – |
8 | Oliver Rowland | Nissan e.DAMS | Nissan IM02 | 1m33.336s | – |
9 | Sébastien Buemi | Nissan e.DAMS | Nissan IM02 | 1m33.39s | – |
10 | Sérgio Sette Câmara | Dragon / Penske Autosport | Penske EV-4 | 1m33.452s | – |
11 | Alexander Sims | Mahinda Racing | Mahindra M7Electro | 1m33.479s | – |
12 | António Félix da Costa | DS Techeetah | DS E-Tense FE21 | 1m33.604s | – |
13 | Pascal Wehrlein | TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E | Porsche 99X Electric | 1m33.745s | – |
14 | René Rast | Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler | Audi e-tron FE07 | 1m33.879s | – |
15 | Edoardo Mortara | RokIT Venturi Racing | Mercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 02 | 1m33.898s | – |
16 | Mitch Evans | Jaguar Racing | Jaguar I-Type 5 | 1m34.115s | – |
17 | Robin Frijns | Envision Virgin Racing | Audi e-tron FE07 | 1m34.166s | – |
18 | Nick Cassidy | Envision Virgin Racing | Audi e-tron FE07 | 1m34.378s | – |
19 | Stoffel Vandoorne | Mercedes-Benz EQ | Mercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 02 | 1m34.416s | – |
20 | Nyck de Vries | Mercedes-Benz EQ | Mercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 02 | 1m34.419s | – |
21 | Sam Bird | Jaguar Racing | Jaguar I-Type 5 | 1m34.48s | – |
22 | Nico Müller | Dragon / Penske Autosport | Penske EV-4 | 1m34.588s | – |
23 | Lucas Di Grassi | Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler | Audi e-tron FE07 | 1m34.61s | – |
24 | Maximilian Günther | BMW i Andretti Motorsport | BMW iFE.21 | 1m41.98s | – |