Veloce Racing suffer misfortune in Sardinia
The second Island X Prix in Sardinia proved to be a controversial one as Veloce Racing had its Grand Final place taken away following a stewards’ decision, before the British squad bounced back to claim second in the Redemption Race.
Veloce Racing flew out of the blocks early on Sunday, blasting to a commanding victory in its Q1 heat, yet again proving the pace and prowess of drivers Molly Taylor and Kevin Hansen.
Taylor looked to continue that fine form as she initially slotted into second at the start of Q2, but a slight steering issue dropped the #5 ODYSSEY 21 wide and down to fifth. Taylor was immediately back on the pace, however, before handing driving duties over to Hansen at the midway stage of the contest.
The E.ON-backed team looked to be cruising into the final as Hansen got by the Carl Cox Motorsport car early in his stint, before rival Timo Scheider forced his way back by shortly after. Contact between the two eventually forced the bonnet off the Veloce machine and the windscreen wipers were also lost in the melee – critical in order to clear the screen of constant mud and sand from the dusty Sardinian surface.
With visibility at an absolute minimum, Hansen brought the car home in fifth for what initially seemed like a place in the Grand Final, but controversy was to follow with a series of stewards’ decisions that would affect that result.
The incidents in question did not involve Veloce Racing directly, but in overturning a result following a clash between the aforementioned Carl Cox Motorsport car and JBXE – as well as then failing to issue a time penalty to Chip Ganassi for bringing down a marker flag – the final classification saw unfortunately Veloce miss out on the Grand Final.
A steady display in the Redemption Race rewarded both Taylor and Hansen with second place and seven points over the course of the day. At the conclusion of the Island X Prix double header in Sardinia, Veloce Racing sit third in the overall standings and only 14 points off the championship summit.
Molly Taylor, Veloce Racing driver, said: “We had the speed, and we know we have the team and car to fight at the front, but it didn’t all come together to win this weekend. Nevertheless, we have scored some solid points, the title fight is close and we will come back stronger at the next one.”
Kevin Hansen, Veloce Racing driver, said: “The win this morning was the perfect start to the day, but our luck ran out a little after that. We have to regroup and review the weekend, because unfortunately we were unable to get the results that our pace deserved. There is a confident mood in the camp and we’re already looking forward to the next event.”
Daniel Bailey, CEO, Veloce Racing, said: “We certainly feel that certain decisions didn’t go our way today, which is hugely frustrating, but overall, we were unable to turn our speed into the right results. We have had a very good season so far and won’t let the challenges of this weekend distract us from our overall goals.”
