High hopes for DS TECHEETAH in Paris

The 2018/2019 ABB FIA Formula E Season’s first race in Europe two weeks ago in Rome saw DS TECHEETAH driver André Lotterer take the pole position and a near win to secure the lead in the Teams’ Championship for the Chinese squad.

And for the second European round, the team heads to its manufacturer, DS Automobiles’, home turf for the Paris E-Prix. With Parisian-born DS TECHEETAH driver Jean-Éric Vergne’s recent win in China and team-mate André nearly winning the Rome E-Prix, the team heads to France with high expectations on the race results.

Since the all-electric racing series was opened up to constructors, DS Performance’s E-TENSE technology has notched up wins across the globe in the four season’s it’s been active in the series. Following the introduction of the new-generation Gen2 cars for Season 5, DS has as the only French constructor involved in the series, reasserted its status as one of the front-running operations with DS TECHEETAH.

The Paris track features 14-turns across 1,920km around Napoleon’s grave in the Les Invalides complex.

Expressing great optimism, DS TECHEETAH Team Principal, Mark Preston, said, “Paris is going to be another special race for us as it’s the home race for DS and Jean-Éric was grew up here. With our recent form, it’s fair to say that we are expecting good results in Paris. We’ve had two very emotional podiums and the first one was in Paris last year when Jean-Éric won and the second in Sanya earlier this year when we at both times experienced a massive crowd signing their national anthem and cheering us. I wouldn’t mind another one of those this race!

According to Preston, “In Rome we re-gained the championship lead in the Teams’ Standings and with the championship being so incredibly close we have both drivers still in for the title hunt in the Drivers’ Championship. We always thought that the second part of the season would be exciting, and we were absolutely right.”

DS Performance Director, Xavier Mestelan Pinon, said, “Paris here we come. The Parisian E-Prix is a very special one for DS Automobiles as the only French manufacturer participating in the ABB FIA Formula E championship.

“We arrive as the leaders of the Teams’ championship with DS TECHEETAH and our E-TENSE ambassador, Jean-Éric Vergne, won the Paris E-Prix last year. This adds some pressure but with our drivers, Jean-Éric Vergne and André Lotterer, we approach this race with serenity as the latest developments made on the DS E-TENSE FE19 in Rome proved to be effective with André’s near win. It’s crucial in this championship to continue to evolve throughout the season as the competition is fierce and the ranking incredibly tight. We now have races every fortnight during the European leg of the season so there’s a lot of opportunities to gain valuable points.”

For Lotterer, #36, “We’re doing well playing at the front regularly, but we are focusing on the long game. I want to win of course and hope that eventually it will happen. The championship is long still, and we have to play smart. I’m looking forward to the race in Paris it’s our second home race and can’t wait to get to this very special city.”

And Jean-Éric Vergne, #25, is very hopeful, saying, “It’s always special to race in cities that mean a lot to you, especially with Formula E as we race in city-centres. With the tragedy of the Notre Dame fire, it will be even more special for everyone here. Winning the Paris E-Prix last year was one of my most memorable moments in racing and I hope that I can replicate it this year, it’s certainly the target.”