ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team clinched its maiden win of the year in Saudi Arabia’s Desert X Prix II, where Laia Sanz and Fraser McConnell put together a perfect performance that confirmed that the team is a real contender for the rest of the calendar.
After coming first and third in the Qualifying heats, the Grand Final commenced with an optimum start by Fraser, who jumped up to first. He remained in the lead from then on. Laia got behind the wheel for the final laps and defended herself from the attacks of their rivals, ultimately crossing the finish line in the first place to secure the first victory of the year for the team.
After narrowly missing the 2023 title, this triumph is made even more special by the fact that it confirms the team’s potential for the remainder of the 2024 season and also because the mechanics had worked hard to repair the Odyssey 21 after the crash that happened on Saturday.
ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team is now second in the Championship standings with 39 points, trailing the leader by 2 points. Beyond the 25 points from the race victory, today the team scored an additional point for winning Qualifying 2.
The Extreme E Championship leaves now Saudi Arabia and heads to Europe, where the competition will resume on the 13th and the 14th of July at a location to be determined.
Quotes:
Laia Sanz, driver:
“Super happy. This weekend was a tough fight because the pace is super high and everyone is improving, but I am super happy to take this first race victory with Fraser. Winning this race is made even more special after what happened last year in the season finale, where we narrowly missed the title. The team has done a great job this weekend to improve the car in each session and we felt really quick in the Grand Final, with enough strength to go for the win. We are feeling well as we leave Saudi Arabia. We know that the Championship will be very tight, but today we saw that we have the pace to go for the win. Today we proved it. We must keep working hard.”
Fraser McConnell, driver:
“Happy for the team, happy for Laia and everybody back in Jamaica. This is a big, big win. Stepping into this team was such a huge step for me. So many other people could have had the opportunity, but I was chosen by Carlos and the team to be here. They saw something in me, they believed in me, and this gave me so much confidence to dig as deep as I could. I am living this opportunity as if it is my last, making sure I can make a name for myself and the team. Carlos has been a hero of mine growing up, so racing for him is such a feeling. It has been a very good first weekend. Yesterday we didn’t get what we wanted, but these things can happen when you push. We are here to win, not to be second or third, and everyone in ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team is doing everything they can to fulfill this goal. I am going to enjoy this win as much as I can. It is a long break now until the next round, but we will go through everything to analyze what we did right and what we did wrong. We will carry the positives and work on the negatives. Awesome feeling and ready to go for it again”.
Carlos Sainz:
“We are very happy to take the first race win of the season in the Desert X Prix, especially after the disappointment we had yesterday. Today’s victory tastes really good and gives us plenty of hope for the rest of the Championship, which we know will be very tight. Both Fraser and Laia did an excellent race today and I am very happy for them and for the entire team. I want to thank ACCIONA and Red Bull for their support to keep on racing. Today we showed that we can fight for everything this year, so let’s go for it.”
Joan Orús, Team Principal:
“Today was such an unbelievable Sunday. We finally made amends with ourselves after what happened last year in Chile. With the help of Carlos, this year we have put together a great team with Fraser and Laia, and today we asserted that we can be among those fighting for podiums and race victories in the rest of the season.”
