E.ON NEXT Veloce Racing cleaned up the Hydro X Prix weekend in Scotland, winning the final on Sunday.
The result was a repeat of Saturday, with Acciona Sainz second and Andretti Altawkilat third.
Kevin Hansen started the four-lap finale for Veloce, opting for the awkward left-hand start but using it to his advantage by moving around the outside and leading out of the first corner. Acciona Sainz’s Laia Sanz launched an early attack, but a sideways moment through waypoint 23 at the end of the first lap curbed her charge and Veloce subsequently went into the mid-race driver change with an 8.680s lead.
That meant Molly Taylor just had to get the car to the finish, but Fraser McConnell, taking over from Sanz, had other plans. He was able to open up a three-second lead over the leaders in the final three sectors of the first lap, and set the best time of the session in the final sector. Three quarters of the final lap had passed and the gap had shrunk to less than a second, with McConnell hot on Taylor’s heels in the latter part of the lap.
However, Taylor held on and crossed the finish line 0.653 seconds ahead of McConnell, making Veloce the first repeat winner of the 2024 season. The back-to-back victories also ensured that Veloce became the first driver to win the finals in one weekend since Rosberg X Racing in the inaugural Island X Prix last July.
Andretti’s third place came despite two penalties for knocking down waypoint flags. Catie Munnings and Timmy Hansen’s podium spots were all but assured after RXR’s Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky suffered a tire failure early on the first lap.
A bad start was followed by a collision with Acciona Sainz and then with Andretti, with the second collision causing the tyre problem.
HYDRO X PRIX II FINAL RESULTS
“Redemption Race” was a fitting name for the consolation race that NEOM McLaren won.
The team had a tough time on home soil this weekend, but Cristina Gutierrez and Mattias Ekstrom were able to take the win after a close battle with Legacy Motor Club’s Patrick O’Donovan and Gray Leadbetter.
The American team was in the lead at the mid-race driver change, but thanks to the perfectly timed use of the four-second Hyperdrive boost in the second half of the race, Ekström was able to overtake Leadbetter.
Leadbetter initially stayed close to the two-time 2016 DTM and Rallycross World Champion, but eventually finished 8.782 seconds behind. SUN Minimeal’s Timo Scheider and Klara Andersson finished third after suffering wheelspin at the start and then receiving a 10-second penalty for running over a waypoint flag. JBXE’s Andreas Bakkerud and Amanda Sorensen finished last on the day. The team took part in the Redemption Race with the series’ reserve car after Sorensen rolled over in Q2.
HYDRO X PRIX II REDEMPTION RACE RESULTS
RXR’s disappointing final performance was compensated by a win in the first qualifying heat earlier in the day. JBXE won the other Q1 heat, while Acciona Sainz and Legacy Motor Club won the Q2 races. Legacy MC’s win came after RXR received a penalty for colliding with McLaren in the Switch Zone.
McLaren, which lost an early lead in the second Q1 race, salvaged two bonus points by setting the fastest overall time of the day by its two drivers in the super sector.
Championship standings:
1. E.ON NEXT Veloce Racing 83 points
SAINZ XE Team 76
3. Rosberg X Racing 67
4. Andretti Altavkilat Extreme E 62
5. NEOM McLaren Extreme E Team 46 points
6. LEGACY MOTOR CLUB 37 points
7. SUN Minimeal Team 24 points
8. JBXE 20 points
