Panasonic Jaguar Racing driver Mitch Evans finished second in the Swiss E-Prix in Bern to achieve his second ABB FIA Formula E podium. The Kiwi fought a race-long battle with Jean-Eric Verge and a last-minute rain shower to power him to fourth in the driver standings. Mathematically he still has a chance to win the Formula E title at the season five finale in New York next month.
Teammate Alex Lynn secured his best result for Jaguar since joining the team mid-season and brought the Jaguar I-TYPE 3 over the line in seventh.
Another impressive qualifying performance saw both drivers qualify within the top 10. Mitch advanced to Super Pole with the fastest time during group qualifying before taking to the grid in P2. Alex put in a solid performance to line up P10.
An early collision at the first corner saw a large pile up and the race was stopped after just 54 seconds. Mitch restarted in P2 and Alex in P9.
Both drivers pushed hard to attack, but few overtaking opportunities on the narrow street circuit made it difficult to move up the rankings.
The Panasonic Jaguar Racing team will now prepare for the double-header season finale in New York on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 July and aim to finish season five on a high.
MITCH EVANS PANASONIC JAGUAR RACING DRIVER, #20
“It feels great to be back on the podium for Panasonic Jaguar Racing, but I definitely feel I had the pace today to take the top step. The Jaguar I-TYPE 3 felt extremely fast and I want to thank everyone in the team for giving me a great racecar. It was harder than I expected to overtake here. I was hoping I’d be able to move on Jean-Eric Vergne under Attack Mode, but that didn’t materialise, he was defending well. There was no time loss to activate Attack Mode, which I think saved him today. When the rain came down, it was really difficult, so I was happy to take P2. There is a big points gap to Jean-Eric in the standings but anything is possible in New York and I will be fully focused on taking every opportunity.”
ALEX LYNN PANASONIC JAGUAR RACING DRIVER, #3
“Overall it was a great day for the team; Mitch on the podium in P2 and my best result for the team in P7. The upward trend continues for us as a team in this second half of the season, which is really exciting. We continued our points-run, so we will take this momentum with us to the season finale. For New York, we just need to keep working hard and hopefully we can finish on a high.”
JAMES BARCLAY PANASONIC JAGUAR RACING TEAM DIRECTOR
“To achieve our second podium for Panasonic Jaguar Racing is a great achievement – it is testament to the hard work of the whole team and I’m incredibly proud. We did very well today on a difficult racetrack – tight corners, a challenging circuit making it very difficult to overtake. It was a terrific drive from both drivers – Mitch pushed Vergne for the whole race and Alex made up three places, but there were very few chances today. We know the pace of the Jaguar I-TYPE 3, so it’s great to finally put all the pieces together and convert that back into good championship points. We will take that energy with us all the way to New York. Mitch is in third place and there is everything to work hard for!”
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