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