BMW Grabs First Position In FIA Formula E Race In Saudi Arabia

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It is no news that the Bavarians are lagging in the electrified motoring scene. In the meantime, while we hope that the wait is worth, the German automaker might have placed its first brick by clinching the first position at the first FIA Formula E race in Saudi Arabia.

The Portuguese professional racer proved to be a gem for BMW after getting voted to use the fan boost by the Formula E aficionados. The voted user of the ‘Fan Boost’ can have incremental short boosts of power for a gamble of fuel efficiency. Hence, the driver is expected to deploy his boost strategically.

“Many thanks to everyone who played their part in this win. But we still have a lot of work to do,” da Costa said of his second victory in Formula E.

While Da Costa walked away triumphant, the company’s second and Da Costa’s fellow driver Alexander Sims could only hold up the 18th out of 22 positions and was additionally levied two penalties for breaching technical regulations.

“My first Formula E weekend was a big challenge and I learned a great deal. António did a fantastic job with pole position and the win and showed how fast our car is,” Sims said. He added he’s “optimistic” for upcoming races after his first go as a Formula E driver.

BMW’s Formula E iterations, known as the iFE.18, features a common chassis that is shared with the all the company’s second-generation racers for the upcoming 2018-19 season. While the batteries are also the same across all racers, teams and marques can differentiate their cars with unique powertrains, transmissions, suspensions and software management systems.

For its works on the iFE.18, BMW has worked in close collaboration with its i sub-division to develop the electric powertrain for the race car. The series moves on to Marrakech, Morocco, for the second race in the season.