Neustadt, 26. November 2022. It was a difficult start to the weekend for Rosberg X Racing. With plenty of track evolution, and grassy fields causing very slippery conditions, RXR was hit with an unfortunate setback in their title chase when their Odyssey 21 rolled during the second lap of Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky's first qualifying session.
Åhlin-Kottulinsky did an incredible job regaining control of the team's machine when she got caught out by an innocuous bump at waypoint 9. But after going through an intricate corner in waypoint 19, the vehicle's back wheels dug into the grass, and despite her best efforts to avoid it, the car flipped.
While the German squad finished their first qualifying session in eighth place, they delivered a masterclass in resilience by working hard to rebuild their vehicle, so it was ready for Q2.
The second qualifying session seemed to have gotten off to a good start, with the team starting in grid position four and Johan Kristoffersson taking the wheel first. Kristoffersson was quick on the throttle and was in the lead, but things turned sour when the Abt Cupra XE's vehicle collided with RXR's Odyssey 21, causing the Swedish driver to spin. Kristoffersson fought hard to get the car back to the switch zone, but just before he got there, the vehicle shut down and would not restart.
Rosberg X Racing ended the day last in the standings, but not all hope is lost as they can still clinch the Championship title, should they win tomorrow's crazy race.
Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky, Rosberg X Racing driver, said: "It's been a tough day, that's for sure, but the situation is what it is, and we will have to fight to win the crazy race tomorrow. We came into this weekend with a 17-point lead, but of course, we knew that anything could happen in Extreme E. Our focus now is to work hard to get the car together, and tomorrow is a new day."
Rosberg X Racing driver, Johan Kristoffersson, commented: "It was a tough day. I had a good start in Q2 and got out in the lead. I then had some contact with JBXE in waypoint 4, which dropped me down to P2. I overtook Nasser and regained my lead but then got spun around after a collision with him. After that, there wasn't much to do other than try to get the car back to the switch zone. Unfortunately, just as I pulled in, the car shut down, and we couldn't restart. We now have a lot of work to do tonight ahead of the crazy race tomorrow, but we remain hopeful."
For information on how to watch the Energy X Prix, please visit https://www.extreme-e.com/en/broadcast-information.