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Nextev TCR Formula E Team: Mexico City ePrix report

An enthusiastic crowd embraced the all-electric series on its first visit to Mexico.

Nelson Piquet Jr., NEXTEV TCR Formula E Team

Nelson Piquet Jr., NEXTEV TCR Formula E Team

Jose Mario Dias

Nelson Piquet Jr., NEXTEV TCR Formula E Team
Nelson Piquet Jr., NEXTEV TCR Formula E Team and Oliver Turvey, NEXTEV TCR Formula E Team
Nelson Piquet Jr., NEXTEV TCR Formula E Team
Nelson Piquet Jr., NEXTEV TCR Formula E Team
Nelson Piquet Jr., NEXTEV TCR Formula E Team
Oliver Turvey, NEXTEV TCR Formula E Team
Oliver Turvey, NEXTEV TCR Formula E Team
Oliver Turvey, NEXTEV TCR Formula E Team
Oliver Turvey, NEXTEV TCR Formula E Team
Oliver Turvey, NEXTEV TCR Formula E Team

The Nextev TCR Formula E Team was in action today for round five of the 2015/16 FIA Formula E World Championship at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. An enthusiastic crowd embraced the all-electric series on its first visit to Mexico. Nextev TCR once again demonstrated superior energy management and also showed strong teamwork when good pitstops enabled Oliver Turvey and Nelson Piquet Jr to gain positions in the second part of the race.

Mexico brought a good show here, the fans were so enthusiastic and it was great to see such a good crowd.

Nelson Piquet Jr

Oliver qualified in 16th but was able to move up a grid spot when Antonio Felix da Costa was demoted on the grid. Starting from 15th, he initially fell back into 17th, but then later in the first lap passed Bruno Senna for 16th. He moved up again on lap 3 when Jean-Eric Vergne dropped down the order. He moved back to 17th on lap 12, then gained a place two laps later when Da Costa was black-flagged. A great pitstop from the team saw Oliver emerge in 13th and he then passed Simona de Silvestro on lap 37 to move up to 12th, the position in which he finished.

Nelson’s qualifying session came to a premature end when he locked up into turn one and hit the barrier. The team worked hard to ensure the car was repaired ahead of the race and Nelson started from 18th. He maintained position in the opening laps and was then promoted to 17th on lap 14 when Da Costa was black-flagged. A strong team performance in the car changeover pitstop saw him emerge in 14th, and he was able to maintain the pace to cross the line in that position.

Oliver Turvey (Car #88): “Coming to Mexico has been fantastic. It’s a great venue and there are so many fans here that it has made a great event. We had a really strong free practice this morning and were quick, but in qualifying the car felt completely different and that really affected the race. We had a decent first stint and showed good energy management again, which allowed us to run an extra lap. But it was so difficult to overtake in the second stint that after I passed de Silvestro it was just a case of finishing the race. Long Beach should suit us a little better so we’re looking forward to getting there.”

Nelson Piquet Jr (Car #1): “In qualifying I was pushing a bit to the limits of the car. I have to say thanks to the team for the hard work they did to get the car ready for the race as it was in good shape. This race didn’t really change much in terms of performances; the Renaults and the Audis were still quick and we struggled a bit. Overtaking was more difficult here which made a bit of a difference. It was still a challenging track so that was good. Mexico brought a good show here, the fans were so enthusiastic and it was great to see such a good crowd.”

Steven Lu, Team Principal, Nextev TCR: “It was a challenging day, but there were positives. Both drivers did well in the morning practice session but unfortunately qualifying did not go well for either driver. There was no big drama in the race, both drivers did well to keep the pace and we got close to scoring points. This was always going to be a tricky circuit for us and we are confident that we will do better at the next round at Long Beach.”

NEXTEV TCR Formula E Team

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