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october 22, 2018 - ABB Formula E

Testing round-up - Da Costa and BMW i Andretti Motorsport sets pace in Valencia

'IT HAS BEEN VERY PROMISING. WE GOT OFF TO A GOOD START FROM THE WORD GO - SO THAT WAS REALLY POSITIVE. THE PERFORMANCE DEFINITELY MOTIVATES EVERYONE AND I AM ENCOURAGED WITH THE OUTCOME OF TESTING.'Antonio Felix da Costa
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
 VALENCIA, SPAIN (October 19, 2018) - #antoniofelixdacosta set the pace at pre-season testing in #Valencia, showing promising speed from BMW i Andretti Motorsport in their first season as a full factory team in the ABB FIA #formulae Championship. After three days of testing at Circuit Ricardo Tormo with the new Gen2 machinery, Da Costa posted a best time of 1:16.977s - over three-tenths clear of his closest rival and reigning #formulae champion Jean-Eric Vergne for DS TECHEETAH. Please see below to view a full list of times - showing combined results over the course of testing. It was the first time the drivers were together on track with the new-look next generation car - boasting more power, performance and almost double the battery capacity. The teams had their work cut out getting acclimatised to the systems software and set-up - racking up mileage with race simulations and qualifying runs throughout testing. Following storms in Spain during the rest day on Thursday and inclement weather continuing into Friday - there was limited chance to overhaul Da Costa’s time set on day two. It isn’t just the car that’s new for season five, there are plenty of fresh faces up and down the pitlane getting a first taste of #formulae. The new kid on the block - HWA RACELAB - ran through their programmes with Gary Paffett and Stoffel Vandoorne behind the wheel, as well as Dani Juncadella on the final day. Antonio Fuoco and Maxi Gunther exchanged sessions for GEOX DRAGON with both vying for a race seat alongside Jose Maria Lopez. Newly-named Nissan e.dams ran with season two champion Sebastien Buemi and one-time E-Prix entrant Oliver Rowland. Da Costa’s team-mate Alexander Sims quickly got to grips with the BMW i Andretti Motorsport car, with Pascal Wehrlein (MAHINDRA RACING) and Felipe Massa (VENTURI #formulae Team) also busy preparing for their first competitive outing at the SAUDIA Ad Diriyah E-Prix on December 15.  QUOTES - TOP-THREE Antonio Felix da Costa, BMW i Andretti Motorsport, said: “It’s been very promising. We got off to a good start from the word go - so that was really positive. We’ve done a lot of testing - 15 days that each manufacturer gets - and we worked hard and went through a lot. It’s nice to see that we’re on the pace together with everyone on track. The track isn’t very representative compared to our street circuits… so it’s not like we can go away from here thinking we’ll win the first race. But the performance definitely motivates everyone and I’m encouraged with the outcome of testing. I’m very excited for the new season - it’s impressive what’s going on here in this paddock. I never thought five years ago in Donington that we’d be here today with all these top drivers and manufacturers. The growth of this sport is remarkable.” Jean-Eric Vergne, DS TECHEETAH, said: “Testing has gone very well. I’m very pleased and we haven’t had any issues. The team is working very well together and we have more #people thanks to DS and a lot more resources - it’s just a question of how to use them best. So far I’ve been very happy with what I’ve seen. I also see a lot of improvements in many areas and the car behaves well. There’s still a lot to come with understanding the car and systems. We now need to go back and analyse everything ready for Ad Diriyah.” Alexander Sims, BMW i Andretti Motorsport, said: “All in all it was a really positive pre-season #test in #Valencia for BMW i Andretti Motorsport. I was a bit hesitant of how to judge things after the first session on Tuesday, but we’ve gone through all the different conditions, particularly with the rain today and a fairly #green track this afternoon. I think we’ve managed different situations well with our BMW iFE.18 cars. Obviously, the track itself is still unrepresentative but nevertheless we’ve been competitive in all conditions. I learned a lot from my side as the team was able to put me through different runs and set-ups, which has been really beneficial.” 

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