X44 and RXR proceed to Desert X Prix Final after thrilling three-way battle 20.02.2022: X44 fought back from last place to claim victory in Semi-Final 1 and progress to the Desert X Prix Final, with Rosberg X Racing (RXR) joining them in today’s Final after XITE Energy Racing received a post-race 10-second time penalty and dropped to third.

X44 fought back from last place to claim victory in Semi-Final 1 and progress to the Desert X Prix Final, with Rosberg X Racing (RXR) joining them in today’s Final after XITE Energy Racing received a post-race 10-second time penalty and dropped to third.



In a dramatic first race on Finals Day, RXR got a strong start off the line which saw Johan Kristoffersson move across to cut off Cristina Gutiérrez, who dropped to the back as she fought hard to stay alongside the Swede.



Kristoffersson pulled ahead as Gutierrez and XITE Energy Racing’s Tamara Molinaro tussled for second place, with the Italian debutant coming out on top initially, but dropped to third by the time they reached the Switch Zone.



After the driver switch RXR maintained the lead, with X44’s Sébastien Loeb just getting out ahead of XITE Energy Racing’s Oli Bennett. It was during this tussle, though, that Bennett picked up a time penalty as he hit a flag trying to claim second place.



Loeb then took the lead as RXR’s Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky got caught out across the dunes and dropped to third. In a fascinating back-and-forth clash, Bennett just managed to hold off Åhlin-Kottulinsky at the finishing line, but XITE Energy Racing’s time penalty ensured they dropped behind last year’s Extreme E champions to just miss out on a place in the Final.




Results

X44 9:05:107

Rosberg X Racing +7.660

Xite Energy Racing Penalised  



Julia Frey,photo Sam Bloxham / LAT Images