| 2018 Ad Diriyah Test | ||
|---|---|---|
 The original layout of the Ad Diriyah Street Circuit | ||
| Test Information | ||
| Date | 16 December 2018 | |
| Location |  Ad Diriyah Street Circuit, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| |
| Lap length | 2.495 km (1.550 mi) | |
| Fastest Lap | ||
| Driver |  Sam Bird
| |
| Time | Day | Laps |
| 1:09.668 | 1 | 36 |
| Testing Guide | ||
| Previous 2018 Valencia Test |
Next 2019 Rookie Test | |
The 2018 Ad Diriyah Test was an in-season test staged on the 16 December 2018 as part of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship, and hosted after the season opening Ad Diriyah E-Prix.[1] The Test would see a large number of female drivers take part at the behest of both Formula E and Saudi Arabia, with teams allowed additional running time if they fielded a female racer.[2]
Indeed, no fewer than nine women would get a run-out at Ad Diriyah, including former FE racers Katherine Legge and Simona de Silvestro.[2] Unfortunately none of them would threaten the top end of the field, de Silvestro ending the day down in fourteenth overall as the best of the female contingent, although Carmen Jordá and Pippa Mann would officially end the day in the top ten in their shared cars.[3]
Instead, the driver to set the pace during the Ad Diriyah Test would be Sam Bird in the Audi powered Envision Virgin Racing.[4] The Brit's best effort of 1:09.668 was enough to beat defending Champion Jean-Éric Vergne by 0.113s, and would become the official circuit record.[4]
In terms of distance covered it was the race winning BMW i Andretti Motorsport cars that emerged ahead, completing 135 laps between the combined work of Alexander Sims and Beitske Visser.[3] Elsewhere, Robin Frijns topped the morning session for Virgin, before handing the #2 car over to Bird, while Stoffel Vandoorne impressed by finishing fourth overall as best of the rookies.[3]
Background[]
With a new generation of FE cars introduced ahead of the 2018/19 season, and only a limited number of pre-season test days, the FIA allowed teams to take part in an additional in-season test.[1] This test was scheduled immediately after the opening round in Ad Diriyah, with FE also taking the opportunity to promote women in the sport by giving teams incentives to run a female racer at the test.[1] Indeed, teams would be restricted to running just one car unless one of their drivers was female, with the Saudi government keen to support the concept after allowing women to drive in Saudi Arabia for the first time in June 2018.[5]
Entry List[]
Below is a complete entry list for the full 2018 Ad Diriyah Test across each day:
Day One[]
Report[]
Results[]
Below is the full result from the first day of the 2018 Ad Diriyah Test:
| 2018 Ad Diriyah Test Times | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Laps | Time | Gap | |
| S1 | S2 | ||||||
| 1st | 2 | Sam Bird
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
36 | — | 1:09.668 | — |
| 2nd | 25 |  Jean-Éric Vergne
|
 DS Techeetah
|
30 | — | 1:09.781 | +0.113s |
| 3rd* | 22 |  Carmen Jordá Oliver Rowland
|
 Nissan e.Dams
|
57 | 1:11.435 | 1:10.264 | +0.596s |
| 4th | 5 |  Stoffel Vandoorne
|
 HWA Racelab
|
39 | — | 1:10.283 | +0.615s |
| 5th | 20 |  Mitch Evans
|
Jaguar Racing
|
65 | 1:11.490 | 1:10.303 | +0.635s |
| 6th | 66 |  Nico Müller
|
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
|
51 | 1:12.545 | 1:10.432 | +0.764s |
| 7th | 2 |  Robin Frijns
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
37 | 1:10.544 | — | +0.876s |
| 8th | 48 | Edoardo Mortara
|
 Venturi Formula E Team
|
31 | — | 1:11.005 | +1.337s |
| 9th | 17 | Gary Paffett
|
HWA Racelab
|
40 | 1:11.523 | — | +1.855s |
| 10th* | 7 | Pippa Mann José María López
|
 GEOX Dragon
|
68 | 1:19.397 | 1:11.550 | +1.882s |
| 11th† | 27 | Alexander Sims
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
40 | 1:11.748 | — | +2.080s |
| 12th | 64 | Jérôme d'Ambrosio
|
 Mahindra Racing
|
50 | 1:12.610 | 1:11.874 | +2.206s |
| 13th | 48 |  Felipe Massa
|
Venturi Formula E Team
|
24 | 1:11.896 | — | +2.228s |
| 14th | 19 | Simona de Silvestro
|
Venturi Formula E Team
|
72 | 1:13.180 | 1:12.048 | +2.380s |
| 15th* | 23 | Sébastien Buemi Oliver Rowland
|
Nissan e.Dams
|
58 | 1:13.027 | 1:12.206 | +2.538s |
| 16th‡ | 25 |  Tatiana Calderón
|
DS Techeetah
|
63 | 1:13.626 | 1:12.229 | +2.561s |
| 17th | 16 | Oliver Turvey Tom Dillmann
|
NIO Formula E Team
|
58 | 1:12.725 | 1:12.239 | +2.571s |
| 18th | 36 | André Lotterer
|
DS Techeetah
|
28 | 1:12.896 | — | +3.228s |
| 19th | 6 | Maximilian Günther
|
GEOX Dragon
|
30 | 1:12.992 | 1:14.969 | +3.324s |
| 20th | 8 | Jamie Chadwick
|
NIO Formula E Team
|
43 | 1:18.044 | 1:13.042 | +3.374s |
| 21st* | 28 | Beitske Visser Alexander Sims
|
BMW i Andretti Motorsport
|
95 | 1:15.812 | 1:13.363 | +3.695s |
| 22nd | 94 | Katherine Legge
|
Mahindra Racing
|
53 | 1:13.892 | 1:13.437 | +3.769s |
| 23rd§ | 5 | Carrie Schreiner
|
HWA Racelab
|
30 | 1:19.558 | 1:36.328 | +9.890s |
| 24th | 4 |  Amna Al Qubaisi
|
Envision Virgin Racing
|
8 | 1:25.128 | — | +15.490s |
| Source:[8][3] | |||||||
- * Cars #7, #16, #22, #23 and #28 were shared during the test day, with no official distinction between who was driving at which time.
- † Sims also used car #28 during the afternoon session.
- ‡ Calderón would use car #36 during the afternoon session.
- § Schreiner used car #17 during the afternoon session.
References[]
Images and Videos:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Sam Smith, 'Female Drivers Poised for Formula E Test in Riyadh', e-racing365.com, (John Dagys Media, LLC., 16/07/2018), https://e-racing365.com/formula-e/female-drivers-poised-for-formula-e-test-in-riyadh/, (Accessed 17/07/2018)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 'Impressive names on entry list for in-season test in Ad Diriyah', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 20/11/2018), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2018/november/impressive-names-on-entry-list-for-in-season-test-in-ad-diriyah/, (Accessed 20/11/2018)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 'Ad Diriyah Testing - Test Session 2', fiaformulae.alkamelsystems.com, (FIA Formula E, 16/12/2018), http://fiaformulae.alkamelsystems.com/Results/04_2018-19/02_Ad%20Diriyah%20Testing/95_ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20Championship/201812161300_Test%20Session%202/03_Classification_Test%20Session%202.PDF, (Accessed 16/12/2018)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedReport - ↑ 'Saudi Arabia's ban on women driving officially ends', bbc.co.uk, (British Broadcasting Company, 24/06/2018), https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-44576795, (Accessed 20/11/2018)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sam Smith, 'Schreiner Replaces Floersch for Ad Diriyah Test', e-racing365.com, (John Dagys Media, LLC., 28/11/2018), https://e-racing365.com/formula-e/schreiner-replaces-floersch-for-ad-diriyah-test/?fbclid=IwAR2hqXU5lakpJEImg_WMseVwsCErl61xpoR8f852NXPlE8nom7p42fY81ho, (Accessed 28/11/2018)
- ↑ Lewis Larkam, 'Mann completes Dragon’s FE line-up for Saudi Arabia test', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 04/12/2018), https://www.crash.net/fe/news/911556/1/mann-completes-dragon-s-fe-lineup-saudi-arabia-test, (Accessed 04/12/2018)
- ↑ 'Ad Diriyah Testing - Test Session 1', fiaformulae.alkamelsystems.com, (FIA Formula E, 16/12/2018), http://fiaformulae.alkamelsystems.com/Results/04_2018-19/02_Ad%20Diriyah%20Testing/95_ABB%20FIA%20Formula%20E%20Championship/201812160800_Test%20Session%201/03_Classification_Test%20Session%201.PDF, (Accessed 16/12/2018)