Jake Dennis in the BMW i Andretti Motorsport #27 BMW iFE.21 finished fifth in both races when the ABB Formula E Series ran in Puebla, Mexico on the weekend of June 19–20. His teammate Maximilian Günther in car #28 finished twelfth in race one and went on to score a points-paying seventh in the second race.
Both racers made it into the Super Pole session on Saturday, and both were front runners until Günther faded with energy management issues late in the race. The win on the circuit went to Pascal Wehrlein, racing for Porsche, but he was disqualified for a technical infraction, leaving the Audis of Lucas Di Grassi and Rene Rast first and second.
The infraction, for not reporting tire allocations before the race, took out both Porsches and both Nissans. Porsche has appealed, acknowledging an administrative error but noting that the tires were the same as those used in qualifying, and that race performance was not affected by the decision. Other observers, among them Formula E founder Alexander Agag, have questioned whether the penalty was appropriate for the infraction.
Wehrlein rebounded to finish second on Sunday behind the winning Venturi of Edoardo Mortara. Dennis once again made it into the super pole session. He ran in the top five most of the way. Günther ran a consistent race, moving up from eleventh on the grid to finish seventh.
Going into the Brooklyn, New York doubleheader on July 10–11, Dennis is eighth and Günther is eighteenth in drivers’ points, and BMW i Andretti is sixth in team points.—Brian Morgan
[Photo courtesy BMW Motorsport.]
