Marrakech ePrix: Presentation and Stakes

A hierarchy that has yet to take shape

After two eventful races in Hong Kong with very different hierarchies, the standings are still quite undecided. Indeed, only five drivers have made it into the top 10 in both races. The challenge of this ePrix will therefore be to establish a true hierarchy among the drivers and teams in the championship. As the leader of the standings, Sam Bird will certainly want to capitalize on his victory in the first race and a fifth place in the second to leave Marrakech in the same position. Jean-Éric Vergne, for his part, will also intend to build on his strong consistency (a second and a fourth place) to position himself favorably.

It is also necessary to mention the disappointed drivers of this first race weekend, Daniel Abt and Edoardo Mortara, both of whom missed out on victory during the second race. Venturi’s driver lost the win in the final laps due to a spin, and Audi’s driver was disqualified for a technical regulation infringement. Daniel Abt will need to quickly swallow his disappointment of missing out on his first Formula E victory to put himself back in a winning position. For Edoardo Mortara, the second-place finish during the second race remains a very solid result for a rookie in a team accustomed to last places. This should encourage him for the future.

Felix Rosenqvist, who inherited the victory in the second race following Daniel Abt’s disqualification, will hope to keep his good fortune in Morocco. The Swede had started from pole position in that race but made a mistake at the first corner. Recovering the victory under these circumstances can thus be considered relatively lucky. Mitch Evans, who achieved the first podium in the Jaguar discipline and was particularly strong during the second qualification, will be eager to maintain this momentum.

Let’s revisit the case of the two usual stars of the championship, Lucas Di Grassi and Sébastien Buemi. The champions of season two and season three are coming off two nightmare races, far from their usual standards. The Swiss driver managed to take just one point, while the Brazilian went home empty-handed. They will certainly want to quickly make a comeback and return to the front. The situation is also alarming at the team level with Renault e-dams in ninth place and Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler only in sixth place. However, it would be surprising if all these big names are still absent from the debates this weekend.

Return to familiar ground for the Formula E championship

The Formula E Championship will return for the second time to Marrakech at the Moulay El Hassan International Automobile Circuit, named after King Hassan II of Morocco, who ruled the country from 1961 to 1999. The layout will be identical to the one used in the 2016 edition as well as to the one used in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) since its modification that same year. The track, which is 2.97 km long, features 12 turns and is composed of two quite different sections. The first six turns follow the permanent version of the circuit added in 2016, which borders the modern hotel area of Marrakech. But starting from the long straight leading to turn seven, the single-seaters will circulate on streets usually reserved for automotive traffic. The drivers will notably pass the Ourika road and Mohammed VI Boulevard (which actually constitute turns 8, 9, and 10).

The latest information to remember

The participants in the rookie test of Marrakech revealed:

Private tests reserved only for drivers who have never driven a Formula E car will take place on January 14 in Marrakech, right after the race. This is an opportunity for all teams on the grid to test drivers and offer them their first laps in the single-seaters. Renault e.dams will line up the Japanese F3 Champion Mitsunori Takaboshi and F2 driver Alexander Albon. On the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler side, the choice fell on the DTM driver for the brand Nico Müller and the young McLaren driver in Formula 2, Nyck de Vries. For DS Virgin, it will be the third Ferrari driver Antonio Giovinazzi and the 2017 F3 Europe vice-champion Joel Eriksson, who will start his DTM career next year.

Mahindra has chosen Blancpain GT Sprint Series driver Dani Juncadella as well as Sam Dejonghe who competes in the TCR Benelux championship. Techeetah has selected Porsche GTPro driver in WEC Frédéric Makowiecki and James Rossiter who competes in Japanese Super GT. For NIO, the driver duo will consist of Ford GTPro driver in WEC Harry Tincknell and former LMP1 driver in WEC Alexandre Imperatori. Venturi will call upon local driver Michael Benyahia, Champion of Formula Renault 2.0 NEC this year, as well as DTM driver Gary Paffett.

At Andretti, the drivers lined up will be Colton Herta, Indy Lights driver, and Bruno Spengler, who also comes from the DTM. Dragon will rely on Maximilian Günther, who drove in F3 this season, as well as Andrea Caldarelli, who was crowned Blancpain Endurance Series Champion in 2017. Finally, Jaguar will race the 2017 Formula V8 3.5 Champion Pietro Fittipaldi and Paul di Resta, who comes from the DTM.

Neel Jani already leaves Dragon, replaced by José Maria Lopez:

The Swiss driver who was a member of the Porsche LMP1 program in WEC and had joined the Dragon team in Formula E for this season is leaving the championship after only a weekend of two races. The results of the collaboration were not very conclusive with only two finishes in eighteenth place, one lap down. The reasons for Jani’s abrupt departure have not been clearly communicated by the American team. However, it seems that the arrival of the Porsche driver was supposed to be accompanied by a technical partnership that did not materialize.

.@pechito37 replaces Neel Jani at @DragonRacing for the rest of the season> https://t.co/WaUEF9YrEz pic.twitter.com/XjAg8af6zb

— ABB FIA Formula E Championship (@FIAFormulaE) 5 janvier 2018

This will, in any case, allow the Swiss driver to fully focus on his program with Rebellion, which will make its return in LMP1 for the WEC 2018-2019 super season. The choice of his replacement was quick, and it is José María López who has been chosen by the team led by Jay Penske to replace him. The Argentine thus returns to the championship after competing last season with DS Virgin before being replaced by Alex Lynn during the off-season. The three-time WTCC world champion has been signed for the entire season and will also compete in the World Endurance Championship with Toyota in LMP1.

The TV schedule

As since the beginning of the season, there will be numerous options to follow the qualifications and the race with Canal+ Sport (Canal+ package) and Eurosport (Canal Sat package). The qualifications will be broadcast live at 12:55 PM on Canal+ Sport and Eurosport 2. To follow the race, tune in at 4:50 PM on Canal+ Sport and Eurosport 2.