After a podium finish last time out in Paris, DS Virgin Racing wants to maximise their points haul at the upcoming double-header weekend on June 10th and 11th in Berlin.
“I have no doubt that we can carry this momentum into the first double-header weekend of the season and to turn podiums into wins”, said Team Principal Alex Tai, ahead of the seventh and eighth rounds of the 2016/2017 season.
The FIA Formula E Championship now returns to the Tempelhof Airport in the German capital. The former airport was used as the location for the inaugural Berlin ePrix in 2015, and now presents with a new fast-flowing 2.27km, 10-turn layout, with the cars reaching speeds of up to 200km/h.
In addition, one of the unique aspects of the weekend will be the use of two different race distances – with 44 laps on Saturday and 46 on Sunday – designed to give the teams and drivers an extra element of strategy to contend with.
“We are in the middle of the season. We know a lot of points are still to be taken with remaining double-headers. The technical team began working on the Berlin circuit as soon as they returned to Paris as the simulator is particularly important to prepare two different races in terms of energy management on the same track. All the team is particularly busy and concentrated at the moment, with this crucial chain of events”, explained DS Performance Director Xavier Mestelan Pinon.
The British squad is keen to continue to build on their success from Paris. “We showed in Paris, and the previous races, that the potential of the car is there and it’s possible to achieve a good result if we manage to have a clean weekend like I did in Paris, so we will be working hard to do that.
This is a new track for many drivers, including myself, and this could help me. I really hope this will give me the opportunity to be even more competitive and to achieve another strong result”, said José María López.
“The last couple of races have been difficult for us on my side of the garage but we’ve had two fastest laps which show the speed is very much there, and I believe that if we continue to work in a good way the results will come in Berlin”, added Sam Bird.
Currently, DS Virgin Racing lies in fourth position in the team standings with 63 points, with Bird and Lopez in seventh and ninth respectively in the driver standings.