DS Techeetah Take The Lead In The Teams' Championship

With André Lotterer securing both pole position and second place in today's Rome E-Prix, DS TECHEETAH has taken the lead in the team championship, leaving the team in a strong position for DS Automobiles home race in Paris on 27 April 2019.

An action-packed E-Prix in the Italian capitol saw André not only qualify on pole but doing it all over again in the super pole, to start an impressive P1. Team-mate, Jean-Éric Vergne, had an issue with one of his front suspension of his car which saw the Frenchman start in P16.

A nail-biting race saw André battling on track with Mitch Evans, who eventually used the Attack Mode to clinch the win.

André Lotterer, P2: 'Mixed feelings today. I've got my first pole position in the bag and good points, but I really wanted to win and I think I had the car for it. So, we need to look at what happened as I started to struggle with the tyres a bit in the middle of the race so I couldn't keep Mitch behind me. It was a clean fight in the end and it was good to see that we had an energy management race today. We're in a good position so hopefully I can get my first win soon, I'm keener than ever for it now and I think it will be a good second part of the season.'

Jean-Éric Vergne, P14: 'It was a tough day for me today. I had a good race starting 16th after a bad qualifying where we had a little technical issue. It was a good recovery and I managed to secure the fastest lap, but then I got a penalty which put me out of the points. I should have been leading the championship after today, but we have plenty of races to go and we still had a very good race with André who finished second with strong points for the team. So, all in all it's not too bad, but we just need to have two cars finishing on the podium in Paris. That would be great!'

Mark Preston, DS TECHEETAH Team Principal: 'Stellar drive from André today. The win was so incredibly close today and André really deserved the win. We've got an incredibly good car, so the rest of the season should be a good one. Jean-Éric was unfortunate to have a technical issue in qualifying which put him at the back of the grid and compromised his race start. He did a great job to climb all the way up to P7 before his penalty.

'So far we've had seven races with seven different teams and winners on the top step of the podium. If that doesn't showcase the incredible competitiveness of this championship, I don't know what does. It's an incredible championship.'

Xavier Mestelan Pinon, DS Performance Director: 'André Lotterer had an exceptional day today. His amazing qualifying lap and second place in the race, showed his true fighting spirit and highlighted the cars excellent performance. His duel with Mitch Evans was gripping and exciting until the final lap. This great result and the hard team work has put DS TECHEETAH in the lead of the Teams' championship heading into the Paris E-Prix, the home race of DS Automobiles, the only French manufacturer in the championship.'

ABOUT DS TECHEETAH

DS TECHEETAH Formula-E team is a Chinese racing team in the all-electric street racing series, ABB FIA Formula E. The team is owned by SECA (Shanghai) Limited.

The team won the 2017/2018 Drivers' Championship title with Jean-Éric Vergne and together with André Lotterer, the team secured second place in the Teams' Championship in the 2017/2018 season of Formula E.

Heading into the 2018/2019 season e of the all-electric championship, TECHEETAH has partnered with DS Automobiles to become DS TECHEETAH.

ABOUT CHINA MEDIA CAPITAL (CMC)

China Media Capital ('CMC'), founded and chaired by Ruigang Li, is one of the most prestigious names in media and entertainment investment and operation in China and global markets. CMC has created and grown a number of champions and emerging leaders in the sectors of media and entertainment, Internet and mobile, and life style, covering film, television, music, sports, location-based entertainment, financial media, financial data service, online-video, smart TV, advertising, social network, game, online-education, e-commerce, O2O and etc.

ABOUT SECA

Headquartered in Shanghai, SECA is a leading Chinese sports marketing and management company specializing in sports talent representation, event management and content/IP development. The company's investors include China Media Capital (CMC) Holdings and member of NBA Hall of Fame, Yao Ming.

ABOUT DS AUTOMOBILES

Driven by the avant-garde spirit and backed by an exceptional heritage of the 1955 DS, DS Automobiles, launched in 2015, aims to embody French luxury savoir-faire in the automotive industry. DS Automobiles is the PSA Group's Premium brand.

Designed for customers seeking personal expression and eager for the latest technologies, the second-generation DS models combine refinement and advanced technology. With the SUVs DS 7 CROSSBACK and DS 3 CROSSBACK, the DS brand is launching a range of six worldwide vehicles, all offered in electrified versions under the E-TENSE signature.

For its demanding customers, DS Automobiles has created 'ONLY YOU, the DS experience', its exclusive service program for a unique brand experience.

Present in 32 countries, the DS brand has created and is developing an exclusive distribution network that includes 400 DS STORES and DS SALONS throughout the world in early 2019.

Photo credit: DS Automobiles
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