NIO Formula E
Formula E

NIO Formula E Team hoping for further points on return to happy hunting ground

Fraser Masefield
14 Feb 2019
3 min read

Following on from a highly encouraging first points haul of the season courtesy of Oliver Turvey’s eighth place finish at the Santiago e-Prix, the NIO Formula E Team returns to a happy hunting ground in Mexico City on Saturday.

The legendary Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit once again plays host to the Mexico City e-Prix, a venue that proved fruitful for the team and Turvey last time out as the Englishman finished a brilliant second behind Daniel Abt after leading for long periods of the race.

It’s clearly a circuit that suits Turvey’s driving style, as he scorched to his first pole position there in 2017 before a technical fault scuppered his chances of victory early on.

“After finishing on the podium last year I have fond memories, so it will be special to go back to race in Mexico City,” Commented Turvey. “I have spent time with the engineers preparing in the simulator for the technical circuit at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. The fans in Mexico are always so passionate, creating a fantastic atmosphere in the unique stadium, so I will aim to put on a strong race and to score more points for NIO.”

Conversely, for teammate Tom Dillmann, the circuit represents a step into the unknown, the Frenchman having to learn the vagaries of the track with the help of the team’s state-of-the-art simulator.

Tom Dillmann
Tom Dillmann of NIO Formula E Team. © Drew Gibson.

“Mexico City will be a new track for me, so I have been preparing on the simulator to help me gain knowledge of the circuit,” said Dillmann. “We have had some issues in previous events this season, which have compromised our qualifying performances, so the goal will be to show the true pace of both the car and myself. Hopefully, our run of bad luck is now firmly behind us and we can have a strong weekend in Mexico.”

Interestingly, the circuit utilises the same asphalt as it used for the Mexican Grand Prix and in that regard represents a very different challenge to the traditional pop-up style Formula E street circuits, as NIO Race Director Christian Silk explains.

“It’s great to be racing again at Mexico City at a track we know well and have had some fantastic results at in the past,” added Silk. “The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is a more traditional race circuit, and as such presents some unique challenges compared with the normal bumpy street circuit.”

It will be interesting to see what kind of a hand the new ‘Attack Mode’ innovation plays this time around, the duration, minimum usage time and number of activations only known to the drivers one hour before the race.

As always, you can give your favourite drivers an additional 25kW of power boost with which to attack or defend, so why not give Oliver and Tom a better chance of securing more points for your preferred team.

Enjoy the race!

Fraser Masefield

Sports news and features writer, web editor and author.

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