CUPRA KIRO tames Tokyo with Dan Ticktum triumph
CUPRA KIRO scores its second ever Formula E victory and third podium of the 2025/26 season at the 2026 Tokyo E-Prix with a thrilling final lap overtake from Dan Ticktum
CUPRA KIRO stormed to victory in Race 1 of the 2026 Tokyo E-Prix, with Dan Ticktum taking the American team’s second Formula E win with a thrilling last lap overtake in the Japanese capital.
Dan and team-mate, Pepe Martí, launched their Qualifying efforts from Group B, and while Pepe missed out by just 0.259 seconds, Dan advanced to the duels. In the Quarter-Finals, he experienced tyre warmup issues and failed to progress but started from sixth, while Pepe lined up 18th.
Dan moved up to fifth by overtaking Nico Müller on lap one and held the position over the opening phase of the race. He took Pit Boost on lap 20 and activated Attack Mode during his out lap to undercut the lead group of drivers but lost the lead to Jake Dennis who overtook with Attack Mode on lap 29.
After rising to 16th in the opening stages, Pepe adopted an energy-saving strategy during an extended first stint which saw the Spaniard take Pit Boost on lap 26 after rising to second during the pit window. He rejoined in a net 12th before activating Attack Mode with the aim of battling into the top 10.
At the front of the field, Dan reduced the gap to Dennis and pounced on the Briton in the closing sequence of corners on the final lap to take victory. Pepe, meanwhile, fought forward to finish eighth, with CUPRA KIRO scoring 30 points with Dan also setting the Fastest Lap.
Dan Ticktum, Driver, CUPRA KIRO
“There are a lot of emotions behind today’s result, and it feels good to take the win in one of my favourite cities. We prepared our strategy very heavily for today and we did a good job over the first 16 laps to save energy while staying inside the top five. When the pit window opened and the cars in front of me stayed out, it was a no-brainer to box and push to the Attack Mode on the out lap. I had clean air which is when Attack Mode makes the biggest difference and by pushing at 350kW in all-wheel drive, we also put less stress and load on the rear tyres. When I was behind Jake [Dennis] I was able to save some energy, I saw him have the energy cut and went for the move. Overall, I’m very happy because today couldn’t have gone any better. When I won in Jakarta last year, there was maybe a little bit of luck involved but today was based on pure merit. We’ve had some terrible luck this season, and I’m proud of the engineers and mechanics for pushing through. We have another race tomorrow and now, we just need to replicate.”
Pepe Martí, Driver, CUPRA KIRO
“I’m happy with the result today. After a weird incident on the first lap, we had quite a few things going against us and it cost me some energy to get back onto the field, but after that, we did a fantastic job. The energy saving before the Pit Boost was amazing and the team gave me a fantastic car to maximise pretty much everything we could. After the pit window I made a small mistake, without which we could have fought for seventh or possibly sixth, but I’m happy with eighth after starting 18th. On another note, I’m very happy for Dan and the team today. He’s had a hard season, and I’m very happy to see him win. Hopefully we can maintain this form, push for more, and maybe even end on a bigger high with a double podium.”
Russell O’Hagan, Team Principal, CUPRA KIRO
“Tokyo will always be a special place for this team because it’s where we secured our first Formula E podium last season. Coming back this weekend, we felt it presented another real opportunity, so to turn that belief into victory is an incredibly satisfying feeling for everyone involved. We’ve approached this weekend one session at a time and stayed disciplined with our execution, and I think that consistency is what ultimately delivered today’s result.
“Overtaking is notoriously difficult around this circuit, so we committed to an aggressive strategy with Dan taking Pit Boost early and activating Attack Mode immediately afterwards. That gave us the track position we needed, and although he briefly lost the lead, we knew that an opportunity could present itself later in the race with some patience. Dan drove superbly throughout and has deserved a result like this for a long time after what has been a season where his pace has so often gone unrewarded. This result was perfect, and the feeling is very sweet!
“On Pepe’s side, we took a completely different strategic approach, and the energy save and overcut worked exactly as we had hoped. He gained valuable ground with the strategy before using Attack Mode with his energy advantage to fight into the top eight, which capped off a fantastic day for the team. Today’s result is the very definition of a team effort. Everyone executed their role, and to come away with a victory and 30 points is a great reward for an enormous amount of hard work. A huge thank to everyone in the team – both at the track and at home – and our partners, Porsche, and CUPRA. We can enjoy tonight, but we have another race tomorrow and our focus is on carrying this momentum forward.”
