CUPRA KIRO scores points on Formula E debut
Formula E's newest team, CUPRA KIRO, secures top 10 finish on series debut in São Paulo
CUPRA KIRO kick-started its debut season in the FIA Formula E World Championship in style by securing a points finish at the São Paulo E-Prix, thanks to an eighth-place finish for driver, Dan Ticktum.
The Report
As Formula E’s newest team, CUPRA KIRO entered the opening race of the 2024/25 season with conservative expectations but built positive momentum throughout the weekend after a string of encouraging performances in practice.
This evident speed, which was especially clear at 300kW, buoyed the American outfit’s confidence heading into Qualifying, and while David ranked 20th, Dan secured 11th after missing out on the duels by just 0.075 seconds after contending with fading tyres.
With their sights set on the top 10, the duo secured a clean start to the race, and while Dan slipped to 12th on lap one, David moved forward by one position to slot into 19th.
An early Safety Car, caused by an accident between Jake Hughes and Nico Müller, briefly paused proceedings although the pair rapidly charged up the order, with Dan taking advantage of a bunched-up pack to move into the points during the restart.
By activating their first of two Attack Modes on lap eight, Dan and David were able rise even further up the field and used their second deployments on laps 18 and 19 to solidify their places inside the top 10.
A Red Flag, which was brought out because of a stoppage for Jake Dennis, provided yet another twist in the season-opener, and Dan and David leveraged the second standing start of the day to continue their offensive up the field.
Unfortunately, after claiming 10th place, David experienced a snap of oversteer and tapped the wall on lap 25 – an incident which forced the German to pit for repairs with suspension damage. A second Red Flag, however, caused by a collision between Nick Cassidy and Pascal Wehrlein with just five laps to go, allowed the 24-year-old to rejoin the race.
In the final sprint to the chequered flag, Dan successfully fended off a late attack from two-time World Champion, Jean-Eric Vergne, to maintain his place inside the top 10 and deliver CUPRA KIRO with a historic first points finish in Formula E.
David, meanwhile, finished several laps down due to his earlier incident but closed the race by setting the fastest lap to cap off a highly promising performance.
Courtesy of Dan’s four points, CUPRA KIRO holds sixth in the Formula E World Teams’ Championship. The team will resume its debut Formula E season on 11 January 2025 at the legendary Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez – the home of the Mexico City E-Prix.
Hear From CUPRA KIRO
Alex Hui, Team Principal, CUPRA KIRO
“Considering the short turnaround time we’ve had to pull everything together for this season, we were able to deliver a top 10 finish today, and it feels very satisfying to get some points on the board at our first opportunity. Overall, especially in the face of a very chaotic race, I think we can be happy. Formula E’s new four-wheel-drive system completely transformed the use of Attack Mode, and that, alongside Hankook’s new softer tyres, added an extra strategic element over the weekend which will be critical at every race this season. Dan, David, and the team did an excellent job this weekend, and we have a sense of raw potential and a clear view of the path we can take to build on our performance. Today was a good start, but we have room to do even better, and I’m looking forward to Mexico City.”
Russell O’Hagan, Chief Operating Officer, CUPRA KIRO
“The team executed a solid performance this weekend, and at this early point in the season, it’s very clear that we have a competitive package that we can fight with. After coming very close to making it into the duels in Qualifying, Dan drove a strong race today and did a good job to come away with four points in eighth. After a clean start, he made some good progress during his first Attack Mode, but unfortunately had his second deployment cut short by around two minutes with the first Red Flag which was a big strategic loss for us. David also delivered a good performance as a rookie in a very competitive field and was very close to the top 10 when he clipped the wall. The contact damaged his suspension, but the second Red Flag bought us some time to repair the car so we could rejoin the race for the final phase to test some de-rate items for future understanding. We have a good baseline in place, and there’s a sense that we can achieve a lot more which is always a positive feeling to have.”
Dan Ticktum, Driver, CUPRA KIRO
“Overall, an average weekend. It’s very positive that the team pulled everything together, and I’m happy to have a car that I can fight with. In Qualifying, I didn’t quite nail it from my side, and I didn’t feel like the car was quite in the right window, and that reflected our pace – it wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t good enough. In the race, I think it was a combination of our strategy and being very unlucky with the Red Flag and losing my Attack Mode. I lost about two minutes in Attack Mode, right at the point where we were supposed to start pushing, which was very, very unfortunate. With the four-wheel-drive, Attack Mode is now very powerful, and it was just a shame. I think we could have had a top five today – the McLarens were very lucky with energy saving and then with the Red Flag. Just not our day, but what is positive is that the car is a lot better. It should be a good season, and next time, we just need a bit more fortune.”
David Beckmann, Driver, CUPRA KIRO
“Our race today was a bit unfortunate, but we had a good run. We started 20th, and we were very close to the points throughout. At the beginning of the race, I had some contact, and that made my car quite a bit different to drive, then after the Red Flag, I tapped the wall and that destroyed my race. But in the end, I’m very happy. I learned a lot this weekend, we had good pace, and I think we showed good potential. We just need better luck next time, and we need to qualify better to avoid the chaos at the start. I enjoyed racing in São Paulo a lot, that’s our first race of the season done, and I’m looking forward to Mexico.”