2019 Rome eTrophy Race

2019 Rome eTrophy Race
The eTrophy version of the Rome E-Prix Circuit.
Race Information
Date	13 April 2019
Official Name	2019 Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy Rome Race
Location	Circuto Cittadino dell’EUR, Rome, Italy
Lap length	2.848 km (1.770 mi)
Distance	14 laps / 39.872 km (24.775 mi)
Supporting	2019 GEOX Rome E-Prix
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Sérgio Jimenez
Team	Jaguar Brazil Racing
Time	1:53.537
Fastest Lap
Driver	Cacá Bueno
Team	Jaguar Brazil Racing
Fastest Lap	1:54.883 on lap 6
eTrophy Result
First	Second	Third
Sérgio Jimenez	Bryan Sellers	Simon Evans
Winner Team	Jaguar Brazil Racing
Time	28:10.236
eTrophy Guide
Previous		Next
2019 Sanya eTrophy Race		2019 Paris eTrophy Race

The 2019 Rome eTrophy Race, otherwise officially known as the 2019 Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy Rome Race, was the fifth round of the 2018/19 FIA Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy, staged at the Circuto Cittadino dell’EUR in Rome, Italy, on the 13 April 2019. The race, which was held in support of the 2019 Rome E-Prix for Formula E, would see Sérgio Jimenez claim his first victory in the series.

Qualifying had seen Jimenez claim pole position halfway through the session, a 1:53.537 proving enough to beat Simon Evans to top spot. Evans himself was just 0.002s ahead of Bryan Sellers in third, while Ahmed Bin Khanen claimed top spot in PRO-Am and a surprise sixth overall.

Jimenez made the best start off a slippery grid on raceday, easing ahead of Sellers into the first corner. Indeed, Sellers himself was lucky to hold onto second on the run into the hairpin, with a slow start almost allowing Evans and Katherine Legge to slip ahead.

Qi Lin would have significantly less luck at the back of the field, smashing his suspension with a slap to the wall early on. Out front, meanwhile, Jimenez was able to eek out a lead over Sellers and co., with the track drying rapidly during the opening stages.

However, the conditions would drastically change after the halfway point, with rain returning to Rome with eleven minutes to go. The biggest loser proved to be Bin Khanen, who slid wide to drop to the back of the PRO-Am field, having been at the head of their battle and ahead of Cacá Bueno.

Once released from Bin Khanen's exhaust Bueno was able to catch the lead group, with Evans and Sellers fighting hard for second and hence keeping the entire PRO field, bar Jimenez, together. Yet, try as he might Bueno could not make any further ground, finding Stefan Rzadzinski in a very defensive state of mind.

Out front, meanwhile, Jimenez was able to cruise home to claim his first win of the season, and secure the lead in the PRO Championship. Sellers, meanwhile, would just hold off Evans for second, while Bandar Alesayi collected his fourth win of the season in PRO-Am to extend his title advantage.

Background

The historic city of Rome would host the fifth Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy race of 2018/19, marking the series' first race in Europe. The circuit itself was no different from the one to be used by the FIA Formula E Championship, which would hold its E-Prix after the eTrophy race as usual. Indeed, the only changes to the eTrophy series landing in Europe would be the entry list, with Qi Lin returning for Jaguar China Racing, while WSBK star Luca Salvadori took over the guest car.

The post-race disqualification for Bryan Sellers in Sanya had been a fair blow to the American's title hopes, for it ensured that Sellers lost his lead in the PRO Championship. He duly dropped to third behind teammate Katherine Legge, as Simon Evans moved a point clear at the head of the field. Sellers himself was just three off the lead, however, while race winner Cacá Bueno had moved just five off the lead in fifth.

In the PRO-Am Championship it was still advantage Bandar Alesayi, with the Saudi Arabian racer having collected his third win of the season last time out. He hence established a 32 point lead over teammate Ahmed Bin Khanen in second, with a further five points back to Yaqi Zhang in third. Those three were the only scorers in Sanya, with Célia Martin best of the rest in fourth.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2019 Rome eTrophy Race is displayed below:

2019 Rome eTrophy Race Entry List
No.	Name	Entrant	Constructor	Car
0	Cacá Bueno	Jaguar Brazil Racing	Jaguar	I-Pace eTrophy
1	Luca Salvadori	Jaguar VIP Car	Jaguar	I-Pace eTrophy
3	Katherine Legge	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Jaguar	I-Pace eTrophy
6	Bryan Sellers	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Jaguar	I-Pace eTrophy
7	Célia Martin	Viessman Jaguar Team Germany	Jaguar	I-Pace eTrophy
9	Yaqi Zhang	Jaguar China Racing	Jaguar	I-Pace eTrophy
10	Sérgio Jimenez	Jaguar Brazil Racing	Jaguar	I-Pace eTrophy
11	Qi Lin	Jaguar China Racing	Jaguar	I-Pace eTrophy
12	Bandar Alesayi	Saudi Racing	Jaguar	I-Pace eTrophy
24	Ahmed Bin Khanen	Saudi Racing	Jaguar	I-Pace eTrophy
99	Simon Evans	Team Asia New Zealand	Jaguar	I-Pace eTrophy
Source:

Qualifying

Post Qualifying

The final qualifying result for the 2019 Rome eTrophy Race are outlined below:

2019 Rome eTrophy Race Qualifying Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Grid
1st	10	Sérgio Jimenez	Jaguar Brazil Racing	1:53.537	—	1
2nd	6	Bryan Sellers	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	1:53.765	+0.228s	2
3rd	99	Simon Evans	Team Asia New Zealand	1:53.767	+0.230s	3
4th	3	Katherine Legge	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	1:53.991	+0.454s	4
5th	18	Stefan Rzadzinski	TWR Techeetah	1:54.083	+0.546s	5
6th	24	Ahmed Bin Khanen	Saudi Racing	1:54.115	+0.578s	6
7th	0	Cacá Bueno	Jaguar Brazil Racing	1:54.177	+0.640s	7
8th	9	Yaqi Zhang	Jaguar China Racing	1:54.790	+1.253s	8
9th	12	Bandar Alesayi	Saudi Racing	1:55.068	+1.531s	9
10th	1	Luca Salvadori	Jaguar VIP Car	1:55.573	+2.036s	10
11th	7	Célia Martin	Viessmann Jaguar Team Germany	1:55.765	+2.228s	11
12th*	11	Qi Lin	Jaguar China Racing	1:56.311	+2.774s	12
110% Time: 2:04.890
Source:

• * Lin receive a three place grid penalty for ignoring a technical fault flag.

Race

Result

The final classification of the 2019 Rome eTrophy Race is displayed below, with the fastest lap setter indicated in italics, and the pole sitter shown in bold.

2019 Rome eTrophy Race Race Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	10	Sérgio Jimenez	Jaguar Brazil Racing	14	28:10.236	1:55.100	21
2nd	6	Bryan Sellers	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	14	+0.847s	1:55.147	15
3rd	99	Simon Evans	Team Asia New Zealand	14	+1.576s	1:55.114	11
4th	3	Katherine Legge	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	14	+2.181s	1:55.093	8
5th	18	Stefan Rzadzinski	TWR Techeetah	14	+2.660s	1:54.972	6
6th	0	Cacá Bueno	Jaguar Brazil Racing	14	+3.271s	1:54.883	5
7th	12	Bandar Alesayi	Saudi Racing	14	+14.379s	1:55.414	20
8th	1	Luca Salvadori	Jaguar VIP Car	14	+16.523s	1:55.793
9th	9	Yaqi Zhang	Jaguar China Racing	14	+17.843s	1:55.399	15
10th	7	Célia Martin	Viessmann Jaguar Team Germany	14	+22.683s	1:56.208	11
11th	12	Ahmed Bin Khanen	Saudi Racing	14	+24.366s	1:55.380	9
Ret	11	Qi Lin	Jaguar China Racing	0	Accident	—
Source:

Milestones

• First Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy race to be staged in Rome, Italy.
  • Also the first eTrophy race to be held in Europe.
• Debut race for Luca Salvadori.
• Maiden pole position for Sérgio Jimenez.
  • Also the second pole for Jaguar Brazil Racing as an entrant.
• Jimenez scored his maiden Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy victory.
  • Second victory for Jaguar Brazil Racing.
• Ahmed Bin Khanen claimed his maiden pole in PRO-Am.
• Fourth PRO-Am win for Bandar Alesayi.
  • Saudi Racing scored their fourth PRO-Am win as an entrant.

Standings

Victory had propelled Sérgio Jimenez to the top of the PRO Championship after the Rome race, leaving the Italian capital five clear at the head of the field. Bryan Sellers was his closest challenger, climbing to second, while Simon Evans dropped to third, six off the lead having arrived in Italy as the leader. Katherine Legge had also lost ground while slipping to fourth, ten off the lead, while Cacá Bueno remained in title contention in fifth.

Bandar Alesayi had once again extended his already substantial lead in the PRO-Am Championship, leaving Rome with a 42 point advantage. Yaqi Zhang was now his closest challenger, although he was just a point ahead of Alesayi's teammate Ahmed Bin Khanen, who had been dominating the class in Rome until his slip. Frenchwoman Célia Martin, meanwhile, had secured her self in fourth, albeit with a little over half the points of third placed Khanen.

 

2018/19 PRO Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Sérgio Jimenez 66 ▲3 2nd Bryan Sellers 61 ▲1 3rd Simon Evans 60 ▼2 4th Katherine Legge 56 ▼2 5th Cacá Bueno 49 ◄0 6th Stefan Rzadzinski 22 ◄0

2018/19 PRO/AM Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Bandar Alesayi 97 ◄0 2nd Yaqi Zhang 55 ▲1 3rd Ahmed Bin Khanen 54 ▼1 4th Célia Martin 28 ◄0 5th Tao Wang 11 ◄0 6th Qi Lin 11 ◄0

Only point scoring drivers.

References

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