Closed Circuit: NextEV NIO in Marrakesh

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The two NextEV drivers had very different weekends at Marrakesh, where the team took six points with only one driver finishing inside the top ten.

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Whilst Oliver Turvey would be starting eighth on the grid, teammate Nelson Piquet lined up on the second row of the grid. Once again, the Brazilian had made it into the super pole shoot out, but he was the slowest man to set a time in the final stage of qualifying, classified fourth when Jean-Eric Vergne failed to set a time. A penalty for Sebastien Buemi promoted Piquet up another position, putting him right behind the pole sitter and out of the way of the opening lap contact further back in the pack.

The differences only continued in the race, but this time luck was on Turvey’s side as he maintained eighth position for most of the first stint, only losing a single place to Lucas Di Grassi just before the pit stops. Piquet had a difficult time defending against Jean-Eric Vergne and Buemi, both running the Renault e.dams powertrain. He fell back to fifth just before the car swaps, but it was in the pits that Piquet’s race ended. An electrical problem prolonged the Brazilian’s pit stop, making it more than double the minimum pit stop time, and he came out in eighteenth.

Turvey, meanwhile, had returned to eighth, and was trying to find a way past Vergne. The Brit finally made up the position on the final lap of the race, taking six points, whilst Piquet was only able to finish sixteenth, the final man to finish all 33 laps.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Team mate comparison: qualifying” tab_id=”1461512175704-af49c202-f1e45043-b5722a2c-7767″][vc_line_chart type=”line” style=”modern” x_values=”Hong Kong; Marrakesh” values=”%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Nelson%20Piquet%20Jnr%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%2201%3B%2004%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22turquoise%22%7D%2C%7B%22title%22%3A%22Oliver%20Turvey%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%222%3B%208%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22green%22%2C%22custom_color%22%3A%22%23f7be68%22%7D%5D” title=”Team mate comparison: qualifying”][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Team mate comparison: race” tab_id=”1461512175763-831c2584-42cf5043-b5722a2c-7767″][vc_line_chart type=”line” style=”modern” x_values=”Hong Kong; Marrakesh” values=”%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Nelson%20Piquet%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%2211%3B%2016%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22turquoise%22%7D%2C%7B%22title%22%3A%22Oliver%20Turvey%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%228%3B%207%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22green%22%2C%22custom_color%22%3A%22%23f7be68%22%7D%5D” title=”Team mate comparison: race”][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”The team says: “…“” tab_id=”1461512258191-0360a250-a68c5043-b5722a2c-7767″][vc_column_text]

Gerry Hughes, Acting Team Principal:

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”A difficult day for the NextEV Formula E Team. Qualifying, whilst clearly not the highlight that we witnessed in Hong Kong, was strong for Nelson and it was a shame that Oliver did not make in to Super Pole. Starting from P3 and P8 on the grid respectively meant that we were well positioned for a strong performance in the race, although Nelson suffered an electrical issue during the car change which dropped him to P18 after the pit stop and effectively ended his race. Oliver had a more straightforward race to P7 but struggled with some brake issues in the second stint, which hampered his progress. Passing Vergne on the last lap secured more valuable points for the team but we have more work to do to improve our race pace compared to our performances over a single lap.”[/perfectpullquote]

[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Championship standings” tab_id=”1461512214611-352b21f1-c5375043-b5722a2c-7767″][vc_line_chart type=”line” x_values=”Hong Kong; Marrakesh” values=”%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22NextEV%20NIO%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%227%3B%2013%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22green%22%7D%5D” title=”Championship standings”][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_accordion][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Nelson Piquet Jnr” color=”green”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_tta_accordion style=”outline” color=”green” c_icon=”chevron” active_section=”1″ collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”Piquet’s race in words” tab_id=”1461512310664-cbeb96df-4af05043-b5722a2c-7767″][vc_column_text]

The weekend started off well for Piquet. Whilst qualifying wasn’t quite as perfect as the first round in Hong Kong, Piquet was able to, once again, but his NextEV at the sharp end of the grid at the start of the race.

Immediately, Piquet had the Techeetah of Vergne right on his tail. He managed to keep the Frenchman behind him for a full eight laps before Vergne found a way through. Buemi was next, recovering after his five place grid penalty. It didn’t take long for e.dams to get past Piquet, putting him fifth before the pit stops.

The pit stop was a disaster, a problem initialising the car forcing him to wait in the garage whilst most of the field sped past him. Piquet eventually came out of the pits after more than a minute and a half, emerging at almost the very back of the field. From there, the Brazilian struggled to move forward in the second half of the race, making up places as those ahead of him found themselves in difficulty. After 33 laps, Piquet crossed the finish line sixteenth, outside the points for a second race in a row.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Lap chart” tab_id=”1461512310716-c8bf2e2d-dbb95043-b5722a2c-7767″][vc_line_chart type=”line” x_values=”Starting position; 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26; 27; 28; 29; 30; 31; 32; 33″ values=”%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Nelson%20Piquet%20Jnr%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%223%3B%203%3B%203%3B%203%3B%203%3B%203%3B%203%3B%203%3B%203%3B%204%3B%204%3B%205%3B%205%3B%205%3B%205%3B%205%3B%205%3B%2018%3B%2018%3B%2018%3B%2018%3B%2018%3B%2018%3B%2018%3B%2017%3B%2017%3B%2017%3B%2017%3B%2017%3B%2017%3B%2017%3B%2017%3B%2016%3B%2016%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22turquoise%22%7D%5D” title=”Piquet: lap chart”][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”The race in numbers” tab_id=”1461512375203-dc62694e-d0395043-b5722a2c-7767″][vc_column_text]

Best time in FP1: 1:23.174.

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Best time in FP2: 1:21.731.

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Best time in qualifying: 1:21.651.

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Best time in the race: 1:25.091.

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Pit stop time and difference to minimum pit stop time: 101.242s (difference: 51.242s).

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[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“It’s been a difficult day. We were having an okay race but I knew I couldn’t fight too much against Sebastian [Buemi] and Jean Eric (Vergne), so I kept to my strategy. When I came in for the car change we had an electrical issue which lost us a lot of time and at that point it was game over. It’s very frustrating so now we have to investigate what happened so it doesn’t repeat. There’s a big break now until the Buenos Aires race in February so we will look to come back strong.”[/perfectpullquote]

[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Championship standings” tab_id=”1461513704972-abbca216-e1a55043-b5722a2c-7767″][vc_line_chart type=”line” x_values=”Hong Kong; Marrakesh” values=”%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Nelson%20Piquet%20Jnr%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%223%3B%203%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22turquoise%22%7D%5D” title=”Championship standings”][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_accordion][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Oliver Turvey” color=”green”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_tta_accordion style=”outline” color=”green” active_section=”1″ collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”Turvey’s race in words” tab_id=”1461512547855-b3644413-70595043-b5722a2c-7767″][vc_column_text]

Turvey wasn’t able to mimic his teammate’s pace in qualifying, only managing to take eighth on the grid. Turvey spent the start of the race keeping one eye on Antonio Felix Da Costa who was trying to find a way past, until Lucas Di Grassi, recovering after a poor qualifying, found his way past Da Costa and into Turvey’s mirrors. Di Grassi found a way past Turvey just before the midrace pit stops, dropping the Brit down to ninth.

There would be no electrical problems for Turvey in the pits, and he emerged in eighth, making up a place due to his teammate’s misfourtune. Turvey spent most of the second stint in a race of his own, not close enough to the cars ahead to make any attacking attempt, but far enough ahead of those behind him to not defend.

In the closing few laps, after Daniel Abt had knocked Vergne into seventh position, Turvey’s race found excitement again as he closed in on the Techeetah driver. It was a race against the clock, so late on in the race, but Turvey managed to make a move stick on the final lap of the race, taking seventh position and six points.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Lap chart” tab_id=”1461512548457-fc72c98b-1a615043-b5722a2c-7767″][vc_line_chart type=”line” x_values=”Starting position; 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26; 27; 28; 29; 30; 31; 32; 33″ values=”%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Oliver%20Turvey%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%228%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%209%3B%209%3B%205%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%208%3B%207%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22green%22%7D%5D” title=”Turvey: lap chart”][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”The race in numbers” tab_id=”1461512549057-0abe4d02-33bc5043-b5722a2c-7767″][vc_column_text]

Best time in FP1: 1:23.174

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Best time in FP2: 1:21.453

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Best time in qualifying: 1:21.853

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Best time in the race: 1:24.751

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Pit stop time and difference to minimum pit stop time: 50.974s (difference: 0.974s).

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[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“I got a good start and held position. After that I was able to create a gap to the guys behind, maintained our energy targets and kept a consistent pace. The pitstop went well and the second stint was pretty consistent. I was on my own most of the race, but it’s another race that we learnt a lot and we improved from the last race. We want to be higher up but to score another six points is good.”[/perfectpullquote]

[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Championship standings” tab_id=”1461513723518-ee223709-f56c5043-b5722a2c-7767″][vc_line_chart type=”line” x_values=”Hong Kong; Marrakesh” values=”%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Oliver%20Turvey%22%2C%22y_values%22%3A%224%3B%2010%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22green%22%7D%5D” title=”Championship standings”][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_accordion][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

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Image courtesy of FIA Formula E Media

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