Acciona Sainz might not have entered Sunday’s Extreme E final with the points lead, but they exited the second corner of the four-lap race in the hot seat, looking on course to claim a maiden championship title.
Not long after Mattias Ekstrom gave the team an early lead, teammate Laia Sanz dropped behind eventual race winner Molly Taylor of Veloce Racing at the start of the third lap, but kept the Australian in her crosshairs until a mechanical failure set off a chain reaction that turned Sanz upside down and derailed the team’s championship hopes.
“I had the pace to overtake Molly, so I was pushing because I knew from the radio that only position one was OKJ for us,” Sanz told RACER. “So I had to try, and then in one compression I almost had the inside. [But then] the car broke on the rear, so I spun.”
The spin was followed by a roll, ending a convincing championship hope instantly. With championship rivals Rosberg X Racing also facing their own share of issues, it resulted in a title ultimately being decided by elements out of both teams’ control.
“It’s a pity. It’s hard because I would prefer to lose it fighting on the track,” Sanz said. “I’m so sad for the guys because they did an amazing job. It feels bad, but I think we can be on the other side. I think we can be super proud. All championship we were one of the strongest teams, both Matias, the strongest man, and me, sometimes the strongest woman, so I think I can be proud of how the team grew.”
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The growth Sanz speaks of has been one of the key stories of the season. Before 2023, Acciona Sainz were perennial under-achievers in Extreme E, but turned that around this year to win the second round, after finishing second the day before. Another win followed in Sardinia, a venue where the team suffered a car-destroying crash last year.
“I think we can be proud, because we had the chance to fight for the championship until the last lap, so we can be proud of that,” she said. “Of course, it’s painful to lose it like that.
“Motorsport is like this, and when you don’t win you can learn a lot. Days like these are also good for learning, to give you more strength and motivation to keep working on improving and I’m sure we will come back stronger.”
Sanz herself has also enjoyed personal growth. Entering Extreme E three seasons ago as a multiple Trials Bike champion, she was among the least experienced drivers in the field. Now she’s considered one of its top performers and, almost as a warning to rivals for next year, she feels she still has room to grow.
“I still have a lot of room to improve,” she insisted. “When I arrived here I had no experience, I was one of the last women, and now I feel strong. I know I have the pace, but everybody works so hard, everybody’s improving.
“I’m happy because I’m maybe not the youngest, but I feel more like the rookies. All the other girls have experience and [were] driving cars and I’m quite new — only three seasons. I think I can be proud. The pace was there this year.”