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British ace continues to establish himself as a regular front-runner as he keeps his head while rivals collide in dramatic Indonesian encounter.
Dan Ticktum produced a faultless display to secure his maiden ABB FIA Formula E World Championship triumph in his 60th appearance in the all-electric single-seater series today (21 June), as the CUPRA KIRO star kept his cool in a red-hot Jakarta E-Prix.
The opening half of the race in the Indonesian capital was comparatively calm, with pole-sitter Jake Dennis (Andretti Formula E) leading a fast-starting Nyck de Vries (Mahindra Racing), who had leapfrogged NEOM McLaren Formula E Team’s Taylor Barnard for second when the lights went out. Ticktum, too, was an early mover, displacing Jaguar TCS Racing’s Nick Cassidy from fourth.
For many laps, that was how the order would remain, until the first round of Attack Modes saw Barnard lose places after clipping the barrier upon rejoining, while Mahindra’s Edoardo Mortara conversely gained ground as the Swiss star – who began the E-Prix in sixth – infiltrated the lead battle.
That battle came to a head on lap 22, as Dennis and de Vries went wheel-to-wheel on the start/finish straight, with the latter still in Attack Mode having taken two minutes’ more than his British rival during the initial deployment phase.
The Season 9 champion rebuffed the Season 7 title-winner’s first attempt to seize the initiative, and when de Vries tried again a lap later, there was contact, leaving debris from Dennis’ damaged front wing littered across the circuit and bringing out the safety car.
His move might have earned de Vries the lead, but it also earned him a ten-second penalty – which would subsequently become academic when he pulled off the track and into retirement, with similar misfortune befalling Dennis.
With the race’s two pace-setters out of the equation, and Barnard having dropped down the field, the door was opened for Ticktum and Mortara to duel it out for glory. Both drivers kept their noses clean through a couple of late Full Course Yellow interruptions – although the second of them cost the Mahindra driver a portion of his remaining Attack Mode activation.
Thereafter, Ticktum – who only reached the Formula E rostrum for the first time in Tokyo last month, and had led just six laps this season prior to arriving in Indonesia – maturely fended off the pressure applied by Mortara to take the chequered flag in front. The British star’s success marked his first in any category in almost four years, and the first for CUPRA KIRO since the championship’s inaugural campaign, when running under the NEXTEV TCR Formula E Team banner.
While disappointed not to win after both of its drivers had vied for victory, the runner-up spoils for Mahindra nonetheless represented the Indian outfit’s second top three finish of Season 11, with Nico Müller completing the podium-finishers in third from down in 13th on the grid – the Swiss ace’s maiden rostrum visit for Andretti and first in general since 2021.
Envision Racing’s Sébastien Buemi crossed the finish line ahead of his countryman, but a five-second penalty for causing a collision demoted the 2015/16 champion to eighth overall. That elevated António Félix da Costa to fourth, with the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team star’s points haul making him the greatest gainer in the title fight.
Shanghai winner Cassidy wound up fifth following another strong performance, although the New Zealander lost much of his first Attack Mode advantage due to the timing of the mid-race safety car.
Barnard led home McLaren team-mate Sam Bird in sixth and seventh respectively, followed by Buemi and his own Envision stablemate Robin Frijns, while championship leader Oliver Rowland (Nissan Formula E Team) snuck the final point on offer in tenth, one spot ahead of nearest rival Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche). The pair made contact along the way, with the Briton incurring a five-second penalty for a separate collision.
The campaign continues with a double-header on the streets of Berlin, Germany on 12-13 July.
Dan Ticktum, No. 33, CUPRA KIRO said:
“I think that is the most joyous part of all this – obviously I’m thrilled that I’ve won a race. I’ve been in Formula E nearly four years now, but the whole time I’ve known this is what I can do. Now I’ve got a good car and I’m doing it. I’m very very happy, I think a lot of people forgot I used to be quite handy on the F1 ladder back in the day, and now I’m just going to start proving it again. The guys are pretty remarkable that in six, seven months the rate of improvement we’ve had over this season. We started in quite a not great place and I was a little bit underwhelmed at the beginning of the season and we chipped away. Since Miami it’s been quite a steep upwards trajectory so I’m very very proud of them. I’ve been with them since day one here and to deliver that is very special for them and a good feeling for me.”
Edoardo Mortara, No. 48, Mahindra Racing said:
“I’m feeling kind of disappointed for the team because I think that more was possible for us, but actually happy for me. It’s been a long time coming, this podium, and if I look back there were several occasions where, with a bit more luck, we could have changed it. But nevertheless, super happy with today’s race, I think we managed the strategy pretty good, especially with the first ATTACK MODE, we got a little bit unlucky with the Safety Car and Full Course Yellow because I think I could have made good use of my ATTACK MODE and passed Dan [Ticktum]. I was in front of him before the second ATTACK MODE. Nevertheless, super happy with second place and already looking forward to the next one.”
Nico Mueller, No. 51, Andretti Formula E said:
“Very good! We always had the race pace all season long. Qualifying has always been our achilles heel if you want to call it that. Today I feel like I had a car to go into the [qualifying] duels, a slight mistake in these very dusty conditions, I paid a big price for that. But then in the race, managed to move up already in the beginning and made our way into the top eight. Then we were a bit lucky with the strategy but also I think very good with the execution, so whenever we had the opportunity to move forward we took it, and had good pace at the end. Very happy with how that one went, obviously super pleased for the whole team and my crew to get a podium, they really deserve it and I hope we can keep that momentum going into the last four races.”
