Formula E: Andretti BMW’s Jake Dennis leads lights-to-flag in Valencia

Rookie Andretti BMW driver Jake Dennis, in only his 6th Formula E race, started from pole and led lights-to-flag to win the 2nd half of the Formula E doubleheader in Valencia, Spain Sunday.

With the clock ticking down, Dennis’ engineer radioed to tell the leader to lose a second through the final sector to ensure a flat-out final lap rather than an energy-conservative last lap and it worked to perfection.

Jake Dennis (GBR), BMW I Andretti Motorsport, BMW iFE.21, heads the field into the first corner at the start

Dennis slowed the pace further to allow the race timer to tick down to zero, leaving only a one-lap flat-out sprint to the flag and he opened the gap to 1.483s at the finish.

Venturi Racing driver Nato was handed a five-second time penalty meaning his second place across the line became 5th.

That penalty for Nato handed Andre Lotterer 2nd place for Porsche as Lynn managed to recover to third in the amended results.

Race winner Jake Dennis (GBR), BMW I Andretti Motorsport, BMW iFE.21 crosses the finish line

Nissan e.dams driver Oliver Rowland capitalized on Nato’s penalty for fourth place.

The only retirement was for Mercedes racer Stoffel Vandoorne, who was squeezed into an inside tire wall in a dice with Nissan e.dams driver Sebastien Buemi in the fight for 11th.

Quotes

BMW I ANDRETTI MOTORSPORT
JAKE DENNIS (GBR)

“I am lost for words. The whole race inside the cockpit was incredibly technical. Pulling a gap at the right point to get the Attack Mode was so crucial. Everyone in the team did a great job. I’m really happy for everybody. We had such a tough start to the season, but today we turned it around. We are back in it again.”

TAG HEUER PORSCHE FORMULA E TEAM
ANDRÉ LOTTERER (DEU)

“You never know what to expect in Formula E. I thought it was going to be all about patience in terms of energy management and tires. We stayed calm and my engineer and team predicted the right moves from the very beginning, and we executed them well.”

MAHINDRA RACING
ALEX LYNN (GBR)

“This is my first Formula E podium and it feels great. Hats off to Jake as he led from the front. It was our plan to stay behind but you are at risk of someone making a mistake, especially when you are in a train. We got a bit unlucky, but we recovered nicely, so thanks to the team. It feels super sweet to be up here spraying the champagne!”

Race Results

Pos St No. Driver Team Behind
1 1 #27 Jake DENNIS BMW I ANDRETTI MOTORSPORT +0.000s
2 5 #36 André LOTTERER TAG HEUER PORSCHE FORMULA E TEAM +1.483
3 2 #94 Alex LYNN MAHINDRA RACING +2.428
4 8 #22 Oliver ROWLAND NISSAN E.DAMS +2.870
5 6 #71 Norman NATO ROKIT VENTURI RACING +5.811
6 14 #33 René RAST AUDI SPORT ABT SCHAEFFLER +8.122
7 7 #25 Jean-Éric VERGNE DS TECHEETAH +8.782
8 4 #8 Oliver TURVEY NIO 333 FE TEAM +11.292
9 15 #48 Edoardo MORTARA ROKIT VENTURI RACING +12.014
10 22 #11 Lucas DI GRASSI AUDI SPORT ABT SCHAEFFLER +12.405
11 9 #23 Sébastien BUEMI NISSAN E.DAMS +13.295
12 24 #28 Maximilian GUENTHER BMW I ANDRETTI MOTORSPORT +13.594
13 23 #37 Nick CASSIDY ENVISION VIRGIN RACING +14.329
14 20 #10 Sam BIRD JAGUAR RACING +15.151
15 19 #20 Mitch EVANS JAGUAR RACING +17.213
16 18 #17 Nyck DE VRIES MERCEDES-EQ FORMULA E TEAM +18.444
17 3 #88 Tom BLOMQVIST NIO 333 FE TEAM +18.885
18 13 #99 Pascal WEHRLEIN TAG HEUER PORSCHE FORMULA E TEAM +19.274
19 16 #4 Robin FRIJNS ENVISION VIRGIN RACING +19.756
20 21 #6 Nico MUELLER DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT +21.069
21 10 #7 Sérgio SETTE CÂMARA DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT +32.079
22 12 #13 António Félix DA COSTA DS TECHEETAH +59.698
23 11 #29 Alexander SIMS MAHINDRA RACING +1:04.277
0 17 #5 Stoffel VANDOORNE MERCEDES-EQ FORMULA E TEAM

 

Driver Standings

Pos Driver Team Points
1 Nyck de Vries Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team 57
2 Stoffel Vandoorne Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team 48
3 Sam Bird Jaguar Racing 43
4 Robin Frijns Envision Virgin Racing 43
5 Mitch Evans Jaguar Racing 39
6 René Rast Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 39
7 Jean-Éric Vergne DS TECHEETAH 33
8 Jake Dennis BMW i Andretti Motorsport 33
9 Edoardo Mortara ROKiT Venturi Racing Team 32
10 Pascal Wehrlein TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 32
11 Nico Müller DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT 30
12 Oliver Rowland Nissan e.dams 27
13 Alexander Sims Mahindra Racing 24
14 António Félix da Costa DS TECHEETAH 24
15 Alex Lynn Mahindra Racing 21
16 André Lotterer TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 18
17 Nick Cassidy Envision Virgin Racing 15
18 Oliver Turvey NIO 333 FE Team 13
19 Lucas di Grassi Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 13
20 Sérgio Sette Câmara DRAGON / PENSKE AUTOSPORT 12
21 Maximilian Günther BMW i Andretti Motorsport 12
22 Sébastien Buemi Nissan e.dams 11
23 Norman Nato ROKiT Venturi Racing 11
24 Tom Blomqvist NIO 333 FE Team 5