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Formula E is back and Audi ABT is out for blood

Audi ABT are back in the mix for season three of Formula E. (supplied)
Roar Guru
26th August, 2016
0

They said they’d never make it, yet season three of Formula E is closer than a softly-spoken Judge Reinhold.

As the first week of testing comes to an end, Audi ABT Schaeffler – who lost the championship last year – showed they’re out for blood, by topping the official afternoon session on day three of testing.

Daniel Abt pipped Mahindra’s Nick Heidfeld by a mere seven-hundredths of a second to the top spot, on the way to beating his personal best from yesterday at 1:30.073.

Abt’s time was set late in the afternoon when the track was at its optimum, with overnight rain and showers throughout the day making conditions variable at best.

Lap record holder Jean-Eric Vergne had to settle for third, despite setting the track alight yesterday, but again proved the Renault-powered Techeetah could upset the establishment earlier than expected.

Renault e.Dams’ Nicolas Prost recovered from a number of off-track excursions to finish the day in fourth, ahead of Lucas di Grassi, the much-improved Dragon of Jerome D’Ambrosio, and the MS Amlin Andretti of Antonio Felix da Costa.

Venturi had cause for celebration when newbie Maro Engel ran as high as second during the afternoon stint – enough to place him eighth outright at the end of the day. Teammate Stephane Sarrazin, however, was confined to the garage for much of the day, with software gremlins creeping in once again.

Splitting the Venturi crew was Sebastien Buemi, who once again seemed content to rack up laps for Renault e.Dams, and Sam Bird, whose teammate – reigning WTCC champ Jose Maria Lopez – found himself in the kitty litter at the Craner Curves when the track was at its worst.

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Jaguar’s (yes, the big cat is back) Adam Carroll rounded out the day in 13th, ahead of Mahindra’s recent-signing, Felix Rosenqvist, and the ever-improving Ma Qing Hua for Techeetah.

Dean Stoneman and Harry Tincknell covered testing duties for NextEV and Jaguar respectively as Jag continues to assess who will partner Adam Carroll in the second car this season.

Rounding out the order was Dragon’s Loic Duval, who was still reeling from yesterday’s technical issues.

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