CARS CARS The Nissan Formula E Team wins the Berlin Rookie Test in both sessions -

Germany’s Berlin Formula 2 racer Gabriele Minì led the timesheets in the morning and afternoon of today’s test, giving the Nissan Formula E Team a successful rookie test in Berlin. In her new position as a rookie and simulator driver, Abbi Pulling kept up her work with the Japanese team, demonstrating strong speed and making progress in every area of her program.

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After setting the quickest time in the all-women’s test in Madrid in November, Pulling participated in the Nissan e-4ORCE 05 for the second time this season. During the two three-hour sessions, the British driver completed 98 laps around the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit. She finished the day barely over a second from first place, having accomplished all aspects of the team’s ambitious objective for the day and improved on her individual sectors.

For the second time this season, Minì was also getting into the Nissan e-4ORCE 05 on the other side of the garage, hoping to build on his strong performance from FP0 in Jeddah, when he finished in second place. In his third race with the team and his second Berlin Rookie Test, the Italian finished both sessions first, setting the record for the fastest time of the whole Berlin E-Prix weekend and logging 97 laps during the day.

With an emphasis on every aspect of a Formula E weekend, the Rookie Test’s objective was for the drivers to collect as much data as they could. In addition to performing qualifying laps with 300 and 350 kW of power and evaluating various setup choices, both drivers participated in several racing simulation programs.

“We’re very happy with how the day went; we set several objectives for the test, and both drivers followed our ambitious plan well and delivered what we needed. It was Gabriele’s third test with us—he showed excellent pace and dominated both sessions all day. We were expecting him to be fast given his previous performances with us, but I must say that the times he set to top both sessions were very impressive. Abbi was feeling unwell today, which is very unfortunate. She still completed the program at the highest level and delivered good results, improving as the day went on while battling through the illness to show why she’s a top driver. She took her time to build her performance and wasn’t too far behind Gabriele, which is really positive. It was a great experience for them and also for our engineers, as we not only tested several setups throughout the day but also had some of our younger engineers onsite gaining experience in new roles alongside our regular trackside crew. Both Gabriele and Abbi had plenty of track time and were able to give us good feedback, which we will use both in London and moving forward into next season,” said Tommaso Volpe, team principal and managing director, Nissan Formula E Team.

“I’m delighted to be here with the Nissan Formula E Team in my new role as rookie and simulator driver, and pleased with the work we did today. I completed a lot of laps, and we ran through the test items with no issues, making for a productive day for both the team and me. The car is very different from anything else I’ve driven, so it took me some time to get comfortable with the brakes and nail my references. I still feel like the gap to the top is a bit bigger than I wanted, but I improved as the day went on and felt stronger in the car than last time out in Madrid, so, overall, I’m happy with my performance,” said Abbi Pulling, rookie and simulator driver, Nissan Formula E Team.

“It was a really strong day; we had good pace from the start and were able to top both sessions. We ran through everything in our plan; the data matches what I felt in the car, so I hope my feedback will be useful for the team. I did a lot of push laps; it was great to feel the power of the car at 350 kW, and the speed was good. I’m delighted to have been fastest in both the morning and afternoon and thankful to Nissan Formula E Team for this brilliant opportunity.” said Gabriele Minì.