Rosberg X Racing leads the way into the final

The first semi-final of the Desert X-Prix was won by the Rosberg X Racing team. The JBXE team took victory in the Crazy Race.

The Rosberg X Racing team won the first semi-final. The Johan Kristoffersson-Molly Taylor duo built their way up to clinch victory in their run, finishing the first lap in second position and jumping into the lead after the driver switch.

Kristoffersson finished his lap in third place, behind Abt Cupra’s Mattias Ekstrom, who gained a big advantage right at the start of the lap. But during the driver switch, teammate Jutta Kleinschmidt suffered radio problems which caused a late start.  

Ekstrom led the first lap, but as teammate Kleinschmidt hopped in the car for lap two, the Abt Cupra Odyssey 21 would not start. Taylor took this advantage, leading her lap from the beginning and taking the win.

The X44 team, with Sebastien Loeb and Cristina Gutierrez at the wheel, remained in second place, securing a spot in the four-team final.

The Crazy Race, which granted drivers two more places in the final, had the JBXE duo of Kevin Hansen and Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky clinching victory. The team dominated the session from the beginning.

Hansen had a clean start and teammate Ahlin-Kottulinsky continued the lead to cross the finish line in first place, gaining a major advantage from her opponents.

Jamie Chadwick was able to shorten the gap to the Swede on her Veloce car, getting close to overtaking him. However, teammate Stephane Sarrazin lost time and was relegated to P3 for most of the second lap until he was able to pass Christine Giampaoli-Zonca to gain back the second position.

This way, both the JBXE and Veloce teams will also take part in the upcoming final of the Ocean X-Prix.

Image courtesy of Extreme E.