Rosberg X Racing got its Extreme E title defense underway in strong fashion with a win in the first part of the Desert X Prix in Saudi Arabia, but it wasn’t straightforward, with the winning margin being the closest in the series’ history.
The champion pairing of Johan Kristoffersson and Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky had to fend off the new NEOM McLaren duo of Mattias Ekstrom and Cristina Gutierrez, eventually crossing the line just 0.167s ahead of the papaya car.
Ekstrom looked to have made the weakest getaway at the start of the race, being last of the four starters in the initial phase, but a hugely wide approach into the first turn allowed him to undercut the rest of the field and emerge from that turn in the lead. The RXR car, piloted by Kristoffersson for the first two laps, kept Ekstrom honest, though, ending the first lap just 0.666s behind.
Turn 1 proved to be pivotal on the next lap, too, with Kristoffersson this time finding the grip on the inside line to snatch the race lead. RXR entered the mid-race driver switch with a decent 1.813s lead, while a race-best third sector on lap two allowed E.ON Veloce Racing’s Kevin Hansen to join the race lead conversation, ending his stint just 0.415s off the back of the McLaren.
That hard work by Hansen was almost undone by a mistake refitting the cockpit side netting during the driver change, but the team ultimately lost little time and the three-way fight for the win resumed on lap 3 with them all covered by 1.928s. After losing out at the start and a visibility-affected run in the first two laps, Acciona Sainz’s Laia Sanz handed the Spanish team’s car over to new signing Fraser McConnell more than seven seconds back.
Up front, a slow first sector for RXR and an early use of the Hyperdrive boost helped McLaren’s Gutierrez keep on Ahlin-Kottulinsky’s tail – a chase that resulted in the two coming together on the Waypoint 5 jump landing. The right-front damage on the McLaren and the left-rear damage on the RXR car was merely cosmetic, though, allowing the duel to continue into the final lap.
There, both entered the first corner side-by-side once again, but it wasn’t until Waypoint 13 where Guiterrez was able to find a way past. The move to the fore ended up being temporary, however, with Ahlin-Kottulinsky repassing four gates later, and just holding on to take RXR’s record-extending ninth Extreme E win.
The battle up front, while firmly a two-car affair, did allow the other finalists to close in until a charging McConnell, looking to snatch third from Veloce’s Taylor, ended up rolling at Waypoint 13. This brought the 2023 runner-up team’s day to a premature end, while Veloce consolidated third as a result.
In the redemption race, Andretti Altawkilat dominated after Catie Munnings made a perfect start. All runners used the Hyperdrive off the start, but Munnings was the last to hit the button, doing so after managing the wheelspin, allowing her to use the power boost deeper into the first corner approach.
Munnings handed the car off to Timmy Hansen at the end of her two-lap stint with a mammoth 4.264s lead over JBXE’s Andreas Bakkerud, who made way for Saudi driver Dania Akeel for the final two laps.
Behind them, a problem for SUN Minimeal’s Timo Scheider allowed Legacy Motor Club’s Travis Pastrana to move up a place. He continued his charge on the final lap, hunting down Akeel and passing her around the outside at Waypoint 8.
DESERT X PRIX I REDEMPTION RACE RESULTS
Veloce won the opening round of the morning’s qualifying heats, only to briefly lose it due to a penalty for a switch zone infringement that was later rescinded, while RXR won the other Q1 race. Acciona Sainz was victorious in the first heat of Q2, while RXR set up what would go on to be a perfect day with another heat victory.