Double victory for Wehrlein at Diriyah E-Prix with Porsche 99X Electric Gen3

MANILA: Porsche had a successful weekend in Formula E. Pascal Wehrlein won the second night race at the Diriyah E-Prix, driving the new Porsche 99X Electric Gen3.

With this double victory in Saudi Arabia, Wehrlein now has the lead in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

The Weissach-developed electric racing car has won every race so far in season nine. Prior to Wehrlein's two victories for the Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, Porsche customer team's Avalanche Andretti won the season opener in Mexico. Meanwhile, reigning Formula E champion Antonio Felix da Costa finished in eleventh place on the city circuit in the capital of Riyadh.

“[It was> a sensational weekend for Porsche with two wins for the Porsche 99X Electric Gen3. We can be proud of our development team in Weissach and of our team at the track, which once again executed our strategy perfectly today. We also made progress in qualifying in Diriyah. Pascal secured a much better starting position today with P5 – an advantage he made perfect use of. He got off to a great start, then meticulously fought his way up the order to ultimately take the lead and not let it go,” Porsche Factory Motorsport Formula E Director Florian Modlinger said.

Wehrlein currently holds the lead in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship's drivers standing with 68 points. da Costa is in 12th place with six points. In team rankings, the Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team is in second place with 74 points.

“[It was> another terrific day for Porsche. Congratulations to Pascal and the whole team. Things ran a little better for me today. We’re making progress every day, but of course, we aren’t quite where I’d like us to be yet. But that’s just a question of time. We have a fantastic car. I’m highly motivated and I know I have a superb team behind me. The successes will come,” da Costa stated.

Wehrlein competed well in qualifying and started from P5 on the second night race in Diriyah on Saturday. He moved up a spot soon after the race began and waited for his chance behind the tight leading group. He had climbed up to third place by lap 12 of the 40-lap race, thanks to a great race strategy and his Porsche 99X Electric Gen3's incredibly efficient powertrain. He then moved into second place soon after. On lap 17, Wehrlein took over the lead and held off his competitors to the flag.

“I’ll never forget this weekend. Two wins are an unbelievable success. The whole team gave a fantastic performance over the weekend. Everybody worked hard for this achievement and I’m incredibly proud of the team. Today we had blistering race pace and a perfect strategy. We used the attack mode at exactly the right time. That was a decisive advantage. When I won on Friday I had to overtake more cars, but today’s race was even more difficult. You could see that our rivals were catching up. That means we can’t rest on our laurels either,” Wehrlein said.

“That was a fantastic weekend. The entire team’s hard work is finally being rewarded. I’m very proud of everyone on the squad,” Porsche Motorsport Vice President Thomas Laudenbach said. “We’ve done our homework. Now, we need to stay focused. The season is still long and we know how tough the competition is in this world championship but after this success, it’s now time to celebrate.”

The Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team's next race is at the Hyderabad E-Prix, the fourth of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, which will be held on February 11.

Since 2014, Formula E has served as a catalyst for cutting-edge and sustainable mobility solutions. It aims to introduce thrilling motorsport to urban dwellers. Porsche Motorsport emphasizes the significance of Formula E by providing the official safety car once again with the all-electric Porsche Taycan Turbo S.

Photos from Porsche

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