Turvey and Dillmann Battle Hard in Rome
Round seven of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, the GEOX Rome E-Prix, provided a somewhat frustrating start to the ‘European’ season for NIO drivers Oliver Turvey and Tom Dillmann with both missing out on target points finishes.
Heading into the eagerly awaited encounter around the ancient Italian capital on Saturday, 13th April, determined to push for top 10 results, in the end Turvey came away with a 13th place finish while Dillmann took the chequered flag in 15th position.
Qualifying earlier in the day didn’t go to plan, with Turvey’s run impacted by a session stoppage, and so the Briton lined-up 18th on the grid while his French team-mate started directly behind in 20th spot.
Only a handful of laps into the race, which started on a damp circuit, a multi-car incident at the Bus Stop chicane led to a blocked track and a fairly lengthy red flag stoppage.
When the race re-started both NIOs did make progress, with Turvey climbing as high as 12th at one stage, but in a see-saw second half of the E-Prix he had to settle for 13th just ahead of Dillmann who secured 15th late on.
Oliver Turvey, Race Driver, NIO Formula E Team:
“We were very unfortunate in qualifying to get a red flag as I think we could have moved further up the grid for the race. We started P18 and made some positions up at the start of the race and after the red flag we were running P12. I thought there was good chance to get some points today, but it was not to be. It was a really tough race and I think we maximised our potential but we struggled for pace so I think P13 in the end was the best we could achieve today.”
Tom Dillmann, Race Driver, NIO Formula E Team:
“It was a challenging weekend in Rome, I gave it my all but we were lacking in pace unfortunately. Despite my best efforts I was unable to make any improvement during the race and fight for position or points. We have worked really hard and just not had a weekend yet where everything has gone our way, so to leave with no points is disappointing.”
Barry Mortimer, Sporting Director, NIO Formula E Team:
“Our aim was a points finish here in Rome and we are disappointed that we didn’t achieve it. We have made some small steps on performance since Sanya and we will contine to build on this ahead of the Paris E-Prix. We have had seven race winners in seven events in this highly competitive Formula E Championship, so we are more determined than ever to maximise our performance during the remainder of the season.”
There is now just a fortnight to wait until Formula E heads across Europe to France for the Paris E-Prix on Saturday, 27th April.
Connect with the NIO Formula E Team: @NIOFormulaE - Twitter, Instagram and Facebook: #BlueSkyComing #Acronis #emobility #miba #ATPI
