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10 Motorsport
Prominent news and results from racing series around the globe
Porsche opens Formula E account with podium
2nd place for André Lotterer in Riyadh
Works driver André Lotterer ensured Porsche’s
debut in Formula E was a memorable one after
finishing the first race in 2nd position.
The opening weekend of the ABB FIA Formula
E Championship 2019/20 presented a double
header under glorious sunshine in Saudi Arabia,
with Lotterer starting from 7th position on the grid
in his #36 Porsche 99X, his Porsche teammate
Neel Jani starting from 20th in his #18 99X due
to a yellow flag phase at the end of qualifying.
Lotterer made a blistering start to Porsche’s first
venture in the all-electric single-seater series,
working his way up through the field to 2nd. Jani
finished in 17th.
For race two the following day, Lotterer
continued his good pace, initially finishing 6th
before being penalised for overtaking during a
safety car period, which demoted the three-time
Le Mans winner to 14th. Jani’s form improved
from the previous day, finishing one place ahead
of Lotterer in 13th. Formula E’s FanBoost feature
saw fans vote Lotterer into the top five on both
days. This gave the German additional energy in
each race. “We are up with the frontrunners; the
pace is there. We can build on that,” explained
Michael Steiner, member of the Executive Board
for Research and Development, Porsche AG.
With two of the 14 races now complete,
Lotterer is 6th in the drivers’ championship with
18 points, while the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula
E Team lies in 6th place in the team standings.
The third race of the season will take place on 18
January in Santiago de Chile.
Ayhancan Güven is the
new Porsche Junior
Turkish driver will compete in 2020 Supercup
with additional support
Ayhancan Güven has been named
the new Porsche Junior. The
21 year old beat a competitive
field of 11 other candidates from
different Carrera Cup regions
for the prestigious programme,
which includes a 225,000 Euro
sponsorship package from Porsche.
Güven came out on top after a
three-day selection process at the
Portimao race track in Portugal,
and will join the New Zealander
Jaxon Evans as a Porsche Junior
after Evans began the two-year
programme in 2019. Both Juniors will
receive support at all race weekends
in the forthcoming Supercup
campaign from former Porsche
works driver Sascha Maassen, with
media seminars, mental fitness
training and sports medicine all
part of the package, aiming to fast
track talented drivers through
Porsche’s motorsport pyramid.
Güven finished 2nd in the Supercup
last year and has been Porsche
Carrera Cup France champion for
the last two seasons.