Molly Taylor has continued her fine start to the inaugural Extreme E season, winning Round 2 in Senegal with Rosberg X Racing team-mate Johan Kristoffersson.
The final of the Ocean X Prix became a two-horse race as the Taylor/Kristoffersson combination led home Stephane Sarrazin/Jamie Chadwick by 14.676 seconds.
The other two cars to make the grand final – Kevin Hansen/Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky of Jenson Button’s JBXE team and Sebastien Loeb/Cristina Gutierrez of Lewis Hamilton’s X44 team – retired at the first corner.
Taylor, who took victory in the season-opener at the Desert X Prix last month, was delighted with the result.
“It’s so fantastic to have won today,” she said.
“Coming here, it felt like we had a lot of work to do over the weekend, and it certainly didn’t come easy, but with every session we just kept our heads down and just saw where we needed to improve, and everything totally paid off in the end.
“It’s difficult to predict anything in Extreme E even when you have the best laid plan, but the team was awesome, and Johan really did a phenomenal job too.
“Obviously, we didn’t get to choose our grid position for the final, so we were where we were and that for me was on the inside, so it was all about trying to get the track position – I really just tried to get that established as early as I could and then hold onto it.
“It’s a steep bank and pretty tight coming into Turn 1, and as I went through, I made some contact, but this is close racing and that can happen.
“A really huge thanks to the team who did an incredible job and to Johan, equally incredible. I’m just really delighted to have won and it’s been an amazing weekend.”
Team owner Nico Rosberg, the 2016 Formula 1 world champion, added: “Two out of two – wow!
“You know, it’s not to be underestimated the challenge that was out there this weekend.
“It’s so difficult because no one really understands the cars properly, as you don’t get a chance to test them.
“So, you have to guess and figure things out – as a team, we’re really trying to bring a Formula 1 approach to Extreme E here which is really helping us a team to perform.
“It’s been an amazing team effort, we just kept building it up through the weekend.
“And it’s so cool as well that in AlUla, it was Johan that very much did it at the start and Molly followed on, but today it’s Molly that made the magic in the final and then Johan brought it home – such a brilliant dynamic which really underlines the topic of equality which is one of the things that this championship is based on – that’s fantastic to see.
“The race format here has been a big step forward from AlUla in terms of development for race excitement – but it’s still early stages and there’s still a way to go.”
The 35-year-old added his enjoyment of newfound role.
“I love this whole championship and being in the role of team principal,” said Rosberg.
“I’m still as competitive as hell even though I’m not actually driving.
“Anyway, we have the two best drivers in the car who are doing a much better job than I could and I couldn’t be happier.”
Round 3, the Arctic X Prix, takes place on August 28-29 in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland.
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