What might have been for NEOM McLaren Extreme E
After a strong start in the Final, an audacious overtake from Tanner Foust on X44 Vida Carbon Racing’s Sébastien Loeb saw this season’s debutants on the verge of a famous win.
Despite dropping to second after the driver change, Emma Gilmour then retook the lead by passing Cristina Gutiérrez before holding off the Spaniard to narrowly cross the finish line in first.
However, after Foust had unfortunately knocked over a waypoint flag on his run, NEOM McLaren Extreme E received a time penalty which dropped them to fifth and denied them a maiden victory.
Equalling their best result of the season was scant consolation given what might have been for the team, but their improvement over the course of the campaign has certainly not gone unnoticed.
Tanner Foust, NEOM McLaren Extreme E, said: “What an improvement for the team over this year. We have struggled through some of the events, being in our first year in competition. We showed true pace this weekend, overtaking Sebastien Loeb was a highlight. Emma put in a great run in the Final. I was fortunate to go from last to first in the Crazy Race and then first in the Final, but some flag penalties we had 20 seconds added to our time, which put us into fifth.
“It was a great feeling crossing the line first, I love this wide style track and the NEOM McLaren Extreme E ODYSSEY 21 was fantastic in Chile. Hopefully we can continue that momentum into Uruguay.”
As Foust notes, it had been a strong weekend for NEOM McLaren Extreme E in terms of speed, yet they still had to fight it out in the Crazy Race to reach the Final.
Contact with JBXE’s Hedda Hosås nearly derailed their bid for glory in the Atacama Desert, but a feisty performance from Foust after Gilmour’s initial groundwork saw the team reach their second Final of the season.
Emma Gilmour, NEOM McLaren Extreme E, said: “It was actually a really amazing weekend, so many positives. The whole team has shown stuff that we have worked on over the first three rounds. We’ve really shown how much we’ve grown as a team, how strong we are and how competitive we are.
“I am really happy with our efforts and it’s a shame we had a few penalties in the Final. Overall, though, I am really positive.”
NEOM McLaren Extreme E will be hoping for more in the Season 2 finale in Punta del Este, Uruguay, on 26-27 November as they aim to end their debut campaign on a high.
