Munich. An eventful week is drawing to a close for BMW i
Andretti Motorsport. Following the digital ‘Season Kick-Off’ and the
launch of the BMW iFE.20, the team was at the ‘Circuit Ricardo
Tormo’ in Valencia (ESP) from Tuesday to Friday for the official
tests ahead of Season 6 of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. The
two BMW i Andretti Motorsport drivers Alexander Sims (GBR) and
Maximilian Günther (GER) completed a total of 536 laps over the
course of the three productive test days.
Sims and Günther took to the track in the BMW iFE.20 at the first
meeting of all the teams and manufacturers involved in 2019/20 Formula
E, which took place in warm and sunny weather on Tuesday, Wednesday
and Friday. BMW i Andretti Motorsport was able to work through the
scheduled programme and gain valuable experience ahead of the start of
the season on 22nd and 23rd November in Diriyah
(KSA). Günther, in the #28 car, clocked the fastest lap of the week in
a time of 1:15.087 minutes. Sims, in the #27 BMW iFE.20, set a
personal fastest time of 1:15.359 minutes to finish seventh overall.
All the Formula E teams used the Thursday at Valencia for video and
photo shoots.
Sims and Günther had already posed together for the cameras ahead of
the test – as the main contenders in the digital BMW i Andretti
Motorsport ‘Season Kick-Off’. The drivers and the new car were
presented to the public in a video on the BMW Motorsport social media
platforms on Facebook and YouTube. To accompany this, BMW Motorsport
launched the #icelebrate Challenge on TikTok, in collaboration with
well-known TikTok creators FalcoPunch, Sky Tami, and PATROX.
This challenge called on fans to celebrate the start of the Formula E
season and the BMW iFE.20 together with the team. By Friday, the
challenge had been met 13 million times.
Reactions to the Formula E test week at Valencia:
Roger Griffiths (Team principal BMW i Andretti Motorsport):
“It is obviously nice to end the test week with Maximilian Günther’s
fastest time at the top of the timing list. However, that does not
mean an awful lot. We were also strong here last year, but were then
unable to put that into practice over the whole season. For us as a
team, it was much more important to optimise our internal processes
and work together even better and more efficiently. I think we have
taken a good step forward in that regard. That fact makes me more
confident about the season ahead than the lap times do.”
Alexander Sims (#27 BMW iFE.20):
“The test really helped us. We were able to get a lot of laps under
our belt and, in doing so, gather valuable data that our engineers
will now analyse carefully over the coming weeks. We were also pretty
quick. That may generally be good news, but we know that the Valencia
circuit is not necessarily typical of Formula E. I had a small bump on
Friday, when I was too fast entering the chicane and skidded off,
however, that was not a major problem. Thanks to my team, who repaired
the car quickly. All in all, we head home in positive spirits.”
Maximilian Günther (#28 BMW iFE.20):
“The test week went well for us. The focus was clearly on learning as
much as possible, looking ahead to the coming season. For us, it was
primarily about continuing the development of the car and team
processes at the circuit. That took top priority. Lap times were a
secondary matter. I am pleased that we were able to do an awful lot of
laps and try some things out. That was very important for me. I felt
very comfortable in the car all week. I can hardly wait for the season
to get started in November.”