ASXE claim top spot in Round 4 qualifying in Scotland

ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team (ASXE) headed the Qualifying standings as the second day of racing at the Hydro X Prix in Scotland got underway.

Laia Sanz and Fraser McConnell finished at the top of the leaderboard as Carlos Sainz's outfit showed their pace on the 2.7km Dumfries and Galloway course.

ASXE will be joined in the Round 4 Grand Final by Rosberg X Racing (RXR), E.ON Next Veloce Racing and Andretti Altawkilat Extreme E. 

LEGACY MOTOR CLUB IN ASSOCIATION WITH JIMMIE JOHNSON, JBXE, the NEOM McLaren Extreme E Team and SUN Minimeal Team will compete in the Redemption Race.

Qualifying 1 – Heat 1 
JBXE's Bakkerud made a powerful start, using the ENOWA Hyperdrive to take the lead at the first corner, followed by SUN Minimeal Team’s Timo Scheider. Behind, an exciting side-by-side battle between E.ON Next Veloce's Kevin Hansen and Legacy Motor Club's Patrick O'Donovan ensued, with Hansen utilising the grass on the inside line to move up to third.

O'Donovan faced challenging conditions with low visibility due to the mud, making it difficult to maintain pace. Towards the end of the lap E.ON Next Veloce’s Hansen continued to progress up to second place, chasing down JBXE’s Bakkerud all the way to the driver change.

JBXE’s Sorensen maintained the lead out of the Switch Zone closely followed by E.ON Next Veloce's Molly Taylor. The battle for the lead intensified between the two teams, with SUN Minimeal’s Klara Andersson a long way back in third with Legacy Motor Club’s Gray Leadbetter rounding out the order.

JBXE extended their advantage in the remaining laps to secure a first Heat victory for the pairing of Sorensen and Bakkerud.

Qualifying 1 – Heat 2
A rapid getaway from Cristina Gutiérrez saw NEOM McLaren XE snatch the lead, followed by ASXE, Andretti Altawkilat, and RXR.

RXR shortly moved into P3, with Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky passing Andretti Altawkilat’s Catie Munnings as the latter battled the changing conditions.

An unfortunate spin for Gutiérrez at the start of the second lap dropped NEOM McLaren XE back down the order to third, allowing ASXE’s Laia Sanz to take to the front. The team were then given a 10-second time penalty for a dropped flag, pushing them further back.

It was tight between ASXE’s Fraser McConnell and RXR’s Johan Kristoffersson in the fight for first out of the Switch Zone. McConnell held firm to keep the on-track advantage, but a dropped flag resulted in a time penalty that demoted the Spanish outfit to second overall, propelling RXR to the top of the H2 standings.

Further back, NEOM McLaren XE's Mattias Ekström and Andretti Altawkilat’s Timmy Hansen battled hard - with the latter coming out on top in the closing stages.

Qualifying 2 – Heat 1

Timmy Hansen made the strongest start for Andretti Altawkilat, holding onto the lead despite attacks from E.ON Next Veloce’s Taylor and ASXE’s McConnell. Hansen defended well under pressure, ensuring his team entered the Switch Zone after his two-lap stint in the lead. Further back, a technical issue dropped SUN Minimeal Team out of the battle for first.

A dropped flag and subsequent 10-second penalty for E.ON Next Veloce’s Taylor during her run was a setback for the team to contend with as they looked to replicate their race-winning pace from Round 3.

The competition remained close between the top three after the driver change. Kevin Hansen was pushing hard for E.ON Next Veloce, but in trying to make up time dropped a further two Waypoint flags, resulting in another 20 seconds of time penalties.

Despite passing ASXE on the final tour, the penalties for the British team ensured they would finish third in the Heat overall behind ASXE and Andretti Altawkilat, with SUN Minimeal fourth.

Qualifying 2 - Heat 2

It was a dramatic start to the Heat, as JBXE’s Sorensen rolled her ODYSSEY 21 at the first turn which brought out the red flag. The American was thankfully able to walk away from the accident after medical checks.

The race was restarted with a three-car line-up, with RXR’s Kristoffersson taking an early advantage followed by NEOM McLaren XE’s Ekström and Legacy Motor Club’s Gray Leadbetter. The teams retained their on-track positions until the Switch Zone, although NEOM McLaren XE incurred a 10-second penalty for a dropped flag during their first stint.

There were further incidents at the driver change, as RXR received a 30-second penalty for an unsafe release in the Switch Zone following contact with NEOM McLaren XE’s ODYSSEY 21.

Gutierrez emerged ahead, leading the pack into the third lap and maintaining position until the finish-line. Their earlier penalty dropped them to second, though, behind Legacy Motor Club.

Legacy M.C.’s Patrick O’Donovan charged on his two-lap run, passing RXR’s Åhlin-Kottulinsky en route to the chequered flag, as the youngest ever pairing in Extreme E’s history scored a Heat win on its debut weekend together.