DS Techeetah Team Garners E-Prix Double Podium In Marrakesh

Starting at Pole Position, DS Techeetah driver Antonio Felix da Costa drove home the lead 45-minutes and one lap later to clinch the 2020 Marrakesh Formula E-Prix, putting him at the top of the leader board after this fourth race of the season. BMW i Andretti Motorsport driver Max Guenther placed second while da Costa’s teammate, Jean-Eric Vergne, moved up from his 11th starting spot to finish third. 

Once again, Guenther and da Costa engaged in a spectacular battle early in the race with Guenther edging into the lead at the 19-minutes-remaining mark. However, with energy-use strategy a key factor in Formula E racing, da Costa reclaimed the lead after adding 35kW of power with a run through the ATTACK MODE activation zone, a boost each driver is required to utilize twice during the race.

“The race was actually much harder than it looked… At one point, I had to let Max [Guenther] get really close and push him into using extra energy, while with the second ATTACK MODE I was preventing Andre [Lotterer] from getting within touching distance. In the end it worked out perfectly! ~ Antonio Felix da Costa

Having climbed up the order, Vergne, now in third, overtook Guenther with six minutes and one lap left in the race. With the two DS Techeetah drivers in the lead, Guenther expended considerable energy in his bid to overtake Vergne and have a shot at da Costa for a possible win. In the end, it nearly cost him everything, making it over the finish line with no energy to spare just ahead of Vergne. Meanwhile, da Costa took the checkered flag for DS Techeetah’s first win this season.  

Jaguar/Panasonic driver Mitch Evans was dealt a difficult hand for making a repeat of his win in Mexico City two weeks ago and holding his championship lead when he missed his qualifying run start by a split second forcing him to the back of the grid for a 24th position start. Despite the challenge, Evans valiantly climbed 18 places to finish 6th and earn enough points to sit in second place in the season standings with 56 points behind da Costa’s 67. Guenther sits in fourth with 44 points and Vergne is now in eighth with 31.

Race Results