As the first-ever Japanese brand in Formula E electric street racing championship, Nissan e.dams has certainly kicked off its ABB FIA campaign with an impressive points haul.
The Formula E championship showcases electric mobility in major city centers around the world, and Nissan is using the series to demonstrate the performance side of Nissan Intelligent Mobility – the brand’s vision for how cars are driven, powered and integrated into society.
Nissan debuted as the newest manufacturer to join the championship with Swiss racer Sebastien Buemi and British driver Oliver Rowland finishing sixth and seventh respectively in the opening round of the series – the Ad Diriyah ePrix.
Weekend highlights for Nissan included Buemi qualifying third fastest and running as high as second in the race at the start. Rowland gained seven spots in the race after qualifying 14th and Nissan e.dams finish its debut weekend sitting in fourth place in the points.
“After more than two years of planning and building our Formula E program, everyone at Nissan is very proud to come away from our first race with such a strong result,” said Michael Carcamo, Nissan’s global motorsports director. “We certainly believed Formula E was going to be a great platform for Nissan to showcase Nissan Intelligent Mobility and that belief has been cemented now we have our first race under our belt. Round one has been a great success for the series, and we’re now even more excited about the races ahead.” He confirmed.
The race was not only the debut for Nissan, but it also kicked off the “Gen2” era of the Formula E championship with new cars which feature new chassis, aerodynamics, battery, and powertrain. The new cars have more power and longer range and eliminate the need for the car change which was previously used in the series.
The series also debuted its new “Attack Mode” format where drivers get to enjoy 25 more kW of power for a short period by driving off-line through a section of track to trigger the system.
“We are starting season five with a lot of new parameters, with a new car and a new powertrain that we have developed with Nissan. It’s nice to have both cars in the points straight away,” said Jean-Paul Driot, Nissan e.dams team principal.
During qualifying, Sebastien performed well with P3 and Oliver has shown during practice that very soon he will be ready to compete for top qualifying positions. After the test, Nissan e.dams team and the Formula E series will head to Marrakesh in Morocco for round two of the championship on January 12.
