10/08/2015
NEWS STORY
Six weeks after the first season of Formula E concluded with the Visa London ePrix, testing kicked off for season two at Donington Park.
Initial bragging rights went to Sebastien Buemi of Renault e.dams, who set the pace during a day that was interrupted by a brief rain shower in the mid-afternoon. The quickest time of 1:32.092, compares to Buemi’s best time of 1:31.083, set during the penultimate day of pre-season testing last year.
The day was the first public outing for the season two technology with a healthy crowd turning out to see the cars in action. This season eight new manufacturers have produced powertrains, however, neither Andretti - in its new Amlin livery, nor Trulli completed a lap, although both teams expect to run tomorrow.
It was also the first time new Venturi signing Jacques Villeneuve had driven a Formula E car in public. The 1997 Formula 1 world champion ended up in 14th place with a best time of 1:38.176s.
Frenchman Tom Dillmann made his Formula E test debut for Team Aguri, completing a few exploratory laps in the wet ahead of a full run tomorrow. There were familiar faces in unfamiliar colours as Jean-Eric Vergne made his public test debut for DS Virgin Racing, while Nick Heidfeld had his first outing as a Mahindra Racing driver.
1. Sebastien Buemi (Renault e.dams) 1:32.095
2. Lucas di Grassi (ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport) 1:32.158
3. Nicolas Prost (Renault e.dams) 1:32.286
4. Sam Bird (DS Virgin Racing) 1:32.523
5. Salvador Duran (Team Aguri) 1:32.549
6. Bruno Senna (Mahindra Racing) 1:35.653
7. Nick Heidfeld (Mahindra Racing) 1:35.700
8. Jerome D’Ambrosio (Dragon Racing) 1:36.324
9. Tom Dillmann (Team Aguri) 1:36.329
10. Stephane Sarrazin (Venturi) 1:36.361
11. Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Virgin Racing) 1:36.704
12. Loic Duval (Dragon Racing) 1:37.987
13. Nelson Piquet Jr (NEXTEV TCR) 1:38.052
14. Jacques Villeneuve (Venturi) 1:38.176
15. Jarno Trulli (Trulli) No Time
16. Simona de Silvestro (Andretti) No Time