DS Techeetah reveals Formula E title defender
DS Techeetah has launched its DS E-TENSE FE19 car, which will defend the Formula E title Jean-Eric Vergne won in July.
The car, launched at a special event in Versailles, features a new livery with predominantly gold covering the main chassis.
Techeetah announced shortly after the season finale in New York its partnership with DS, which parted ways with Virgin after three seasons, giving the team manufacturer status for the first time as either its current guise or its previous incarnation as Team Aguri.
This means the team is now entitled to 15 days private testing, in addition to the three public pre-season test days in Valencia.
“We’ve been busy behind the scenes developing the DS E-TENSE FE19 and it’s great to have the full force of Techeetah on board so that we can continue to optimise our package for the 2018/2019 season and beyond,” said DS Performance Director Xavier Mestelan Pinon.
“In addition to a strong driver line-up, we’ve also got an incredibly talented engineering and technical pool at hand – a combination of the best of both sides to create a fantastic DS Techeetah technical team.”
The team confirmed that it has retained Andre Lotterer alongside Vergne who are on multi-year deals, and have been made DS Performance’s official test drivers.
“I’m incredibly happy to continue another year with the team,” Vergne said.
“After winning the 2017/2018 drivers’ title and now with the addition of DS this season, we are even stronger, and it should be a great year.
“It is a very exciting time for the championship with the Gen2 car entering the all-electric street racing championship and we can expect is a new level of competition and excitement.”
Lotterer added: “The DS E-TENSE FE19 doesn’t just look fantastic, it’s also brilliant to drive. I got the taste for success in Formula E last season and I’m keen for more this year.
“We have a really strong team and I feel we can achieve great things together. With my previous experience I know how important it is to have everyone under the same roof when you work towards the same goal, so it’s a great asset for us coming into the season ahead.”
Super GT and Super Formula driver James Rossiter and European Formula 3 racer Zhou Guanyu have been retained as development drivers.
