The Ricardo Tormo circuit in Spain once more hosted pre-season testing for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The first session, which took place in the morning of 24 October, went smoothly but a battery fire that prompted the evacuation of the circuit and delayed further testing for more than a day and a half interrupted the rest of the day.
2022 champion Stoffel Vandoorne undertook a productive race simulation
Following all the correctly applied safety protocols, testing could resume in the afternoon of Thursday 26 October, with all the teams able to compare their respective performances.
The two DS E-TENSE FE23 cars run by DS PENSKE showed some promising results. Two-time Formula E champion Jean-Eric Vergne and 2022 champion Stoffel Vandoorne undertook a productive race simulation and showed excellent pace during the final test session.
With plenty of useful information gained throughout two days of testing, the team’s engineers will now concentrate on the evolutions to be put in place ahead of the opening race in Mexico on January 13, 2024.
Eugenio Frenetic, DS Performance director:
“Pre-season testing in Valencia gave us two important indications. The first was that the battery safety procedures put in place by the FIA and Formula E work well. Tuesday’s fire demonstrated how those procedures were perfectly applied to avoid further damage. The second was that our team could head off with positive and useful information to develop our car for Season 10. While there was a bit less running than we expected, we were still able to try out a lot of things and we come home with some clear ideas about what we need to do during the coming weeks.”
Key figures since DS Automobiles entered Formula E:
105 races
4 championship titles
16 victories
47 podiums
22 pole positions
