Fresh from their first podium finish of the season in Marrakech, thanks to Sébastien Buemi’s second place, Renault e.dams are getting ready to tackle the first ever Santiago ePrix this weekend, February 3.
The Chilean capital will host its first FIA ABB Formula E race on the streets of the city where Buemi and team-mate Nico Prost will be aiming for a strong points haul.
The circuit, beginning on the Santa Maria Avenue, is just over 1.5 miles in length and features 12 turns. Drivers will cross the Mapocho river, arriving at the famous Plaza Baquedano, before carving through the historic Forestal park to feed back across the start and finish straight.
Renault e.dams are hoping to confirm the progress it showed in Marrakech in what will be the fourth round of the FIA ABB Formula E Championship following the Hong Kong double header in December and the Marrakech outing last month.
Groupe Renault is the leader in sales of electric vehicles in Chile with three models, the Kangoo, Fluence and Zoe, featuring in the top six of the EV market.
The success of the French brand, as well as its strong growth (+ 45%) in 2017, make it one of the car brands to have made the biggest impact in Chile over the last four years.
Its success is down to the quality, comfort, advanced technology, attractive design and performance of its range of products, as well as boasting the best distribution network in the country.
Sébastien Buemi: “I’m delighted to be going to Chile for the first time and I’m looking forward to discovering another circuit. I’ve done a lot of work on the simulator to prepare for this new race. The high temperatures in Santiago at this time of year are going to pose a fresh challenge. The gaps in competitiveness between the teams has narrowed down considerably, but I’m hoping to remain in the mix and continue the momentum we made at the last race in Marrakech by taking a podium.”
Nicolas Prost: “I can’t wait to discover this new circuit in Santiago. We’ve learned a lot after the problems we had in Marrakech and we’ve worked hard to be fully prepared to take up this new challenge. Our aim is to score points in each race to remain among the front-runners.”
Stats
2.470 km: circuit length
12: number of corners
37: number of laps
28: Renault e.dams arrives in Santiago with 28 points in the teams’ championship
Key figures
6: Buemi is 6th in the drivers’ classification
523.4 km: the distance covered in the races by our drivers since the start of the season
4: Santiago is the fourth race in season 4