Motorsport: Formula E season opener, WTCC finale
MOTORSPORT The fourth season of the FIA Formula E begins with two races in Hong Kong. And on the evening of December 1, the World Touring Car Championship comes to an end in Qatar. Kris Richard from Berne will get his second chance there. His good starting positions promise world championship points! The last FIA World Championship in 2017 ends this evening at the Losail Circuit in [...]
The last FIA World Championship in 2017 ends tonight at the Losail Circuit in Qatar. Under floodlights, Sweden's Thed Björk on Volvo S60 Polestar and Hungary's Norbert Michelisz on Honda Civic WTCC will decide the World Touring Car Championship title between themselves. For the Volvo brand and its sporting offshoot Polestar, it would be the first major success in motorsport since its time with the Volvo 240 Turbo in Group A.
Fortunately, Kris Richard, a Swiss, is also in the mix. The 23-year-old from Bern was allowed to make a free guest start in Japan in October, this as a prize for winning the FIA ETCC 2016. Since Richard did his job very well in difficult conditions (continuous rain) and the Chevrolet Cruze from Campos Racing is still free, he gets a second chance.
In qualifying on Friday afternoon, Richard sensationally achieved the eighth-best time. This means he will start from the fourth row in the first race and even from third position in the second race thanks to the reversed grid rule for the top 10. No Swiss driver has scored WTCC points since Alain Menu in 2012.
Fourth Formula E season with three Swiss drivers
Four months after Sébastien Buemi's disappointing end to the season in Montreal, where he lost the title fight to Lucas di Grassi, FIA Formula E will start its fourth multi-year season 2017/18 with a double-header in Hong Kong. Last year, the 29-year-old driver from Vaud won the season-opening race in the Chinese metropolis. With the new Renault Z.E. 17, Buemi, like his Brazilian archrival in the Audi e-tron FE04, is among the close favorites.
Neel Jani is a rookie in this profession. The sports car world champion and 2016 Le Mans winner drives for the private Dragon Racing team. The US team is co-owned by Jay Penske, the son of the legendary Roger Penske. The latter also gives the car its name.
Edoardo Mortara from Geneva, who competes with an Italian license, is also a newcomer to the electric racing series and starts for Venturi. In this way, he and Jani can gain experience and recommend themselves to their current employers. Porsche and Mercedes will enter Formula E in two years.
Both Formula E races will be broadcast live on Eurosport from 8 to 9:15 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, December 2-3. On Saturday morning, a recording of the WTCC final in Qatar will be broadcast afterwards.
