Five Key Moments from the 2022 Marrakech E-Prix

The Return to Marrakech

Before its 2022 return, the Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan last hosted Formula E in Season 6 and last weekend, the track whirred back into action once more.

As the final stop of Formula E’s pre-pandemic era, the Moroccan venue presented a preserved picture of the past yet delivered another spectacular afternoon of wheel-to-wheel racing.

From thrilling duels on track to strategy intrigue in the pit lane, the Marrakech E-Prix had it all and marked a welcome stop in Season 8.

The Qualifying Maestro

Edoardo Mortara showed strong potential after leading the way in FP1 and when qualifying came around, our Swiss-Italian star turned up the heat.

From Group A out, Edo led the way and after topping the initial stages to progress to the duels, he continued to showcase his outright pace behind the wheel.

By first defeating Jaguar’s Mitch Evans in the Quarter-Finals, Edo faced Pascal Wehrlein at the penultimate stage and beat the Porsche driver to advance to the pole position shootout.

Here, he faced off against Antonio Felix da Costa in the final duel and fell only 0.081 seconds short in the closely contested head-to-head.

Nevertheless, Edo secured a strong starting spot for Saturday’s E-Prix and by lining up in second, secured his fifth front row grid start of the season.

Edo Reigns Supreme

Morocco’s high temperatures presented a supreme strategy challenge but with a cool and clinical approach, Edo maintained his hold over the weekend when the race got underway.

By securing a clean start, he maintained position over the first lap but quickly pounced for the lead when Da Costa activated Attack Mode in the eighth minute.

Activating the power boost himself, Edo relinquished first place with 37 minutes remaining but by using his second deployment to its full effect, regained control soon after.

His rhythm was controlled and by fending off both DS Techeetah drivers late on, Edo was ultimately unbeatable and secured his third win of the season after 45 minutes + one lap of hard-fought racing.

Comeback King

After missing out on the duel stages in qualifying, Lucas lined up 10th on the grid for the race but dug in deep to deliver an overtaking masterclass on Sunday afternoon.

Despite losing ground and slipping to 12th on the opening lap, he continued to fight the fight and made light work of Oliver Askew and Nick Cassidy to regain a position in the points.

Subsequent overtakes on Sam Bird and Wehrlein bolstered his position to challenge and by next passing Jake Dennis and Oliver Rowland, the top five was within reach.

Charging hard and using every ounce of energy to its fullest, Lucas decided to strike and slid up the inside of Nyck de Vries in the penultimate corner of the final lap to deliver an electric end to a high-octane E-Prix.

World Championship Leaders

By also setting the fastest lap for the fourth time this season, Lucas added one bonus point to his weekend tally, with ROKiT Venturi Racing taking home a total of 36 points after Edo’s win.

Having amassed 205 points so far this season, the Monegasque marque holds first place in the World Teams’ Championship while Edo moved to the head of the Drivers’Standings.

With only six races remaining this season, the title fight is coming down to the wire, with double-header events in New York City, London and Seoul standing between the present and Formula E’s championship decider.