DS and Techeetah seal their union in Formula E

Finished the DS – Virgin Racing alliance, make way for DS – Techeetah from season 5 of the Formula E. As announced in our columns for several months, the French brand and the Chinese team will be associated from December for the opening of the 2018-2019 campaign of the 100% electric single-seater championship, on the Riyadh track in Saudi Arabia. .

This new structure, which will be officially unveiled on October 1, will involve two DS E-Tense FE 19, based on the Gen 2 chassis which will offer as the main novelty the end of car changes mid-race, thanks to the new batteries developed by McLaren.

DS thus puts an end to its fruitful collaboration with Virgin Racing in the discipline, the duo having achieved five victories and two podiums in the general Teams classification. Sam Bird had a long fight for the Drivers' title this year against Techeetah driver Jean-Eric Vergne before being beaten in the first round of the New York ePrix earlier in the month.

“We would like to thank Virgin Racing for these three great seasons experienced together, recalls Xavier Mestelan Pinon, Director of DS Performance. Our commitment to Formula E is part of DS Automobiles’ deep involvement in the electrification of its vehicles.

The development of DS E-Tense FE 19 began several months ago with the ambition of being able to fight for victory in the first race of the 2018/2019 season. This agreement with Techeetah, which has just won the Drivers' title and second place in the Teams ranking, goes in this direction.

We know the qualities of the men and women of Techeetah and we are convinced of our full complementarity. »

For Techeetah, owned by China Media Capital and which started on the ashes of Team Aguri, this change will bring about a major change in the team, after two seasons spent with the traction chains. Renault ZE

“In recent months, we have experienced some great fights on the track with DS. We are therefore looking forward to combining the experience and expertise of two of the best teams in the paddock, underlines Edmund Chu, president of the team. And, for the first time, Techeetah becomes a team supported by a manufacturer. »