X44 secured victory in Semi-Final 2 to seal their spot in the NEOM Island X Prix II Final, with ABT CUPRA XE joining them after an impressive drive to hold off NEOM McLaren Extreme E.
X44’s Cristina Gutierrez got a storming start to snatch the lead for Lewis Hamilton’s outfit which they never surrendered, pulling away from their rivals ABT CUPRA XE and NEOM McLaren Extreme E as they squabbled for a Final spot in Sardinia.
It was a tense duel between ABT CUPRA XE’s Jutta Kleinschmidt and NEOM McLaren XE’s Emma Gilmour, with the former defending her second place impeccably to keep the latter at bay.
The order was maintained as the trio entered the Switch Zone, with ABT CUPRA XE managing to extend their gap to NEOM McLaren XE after the driver switch.
Despite nursing a technical issue, X44’s Sebastien Loeb retained the lead while being chased ferociously by the charging ABT CUPRA XE of Nasser Al-Attiyah.
Despite closing the gap to the leader, and pulling away from NEOM McLaren XE’s Tanner Foust in third, the Qatari couldn’t get close enough to attempt an overtake for first and had to settle for second, ensuring ABT CUPRA XE join X44 in the NEOM Island X Prix II Final, co-organised by the Automobile Club d’Italia and Regione Sardegna.
Results
1. X44 9:18:618
2. ABT CUPRA XE +4.008
3. NEOM McLaren XE +19.453