CUPRA KIRO wraps up productive pre-season test in Valencia
CUPRA KIRO completes successful Formula E pre-season test with Dan Ticktum and Pepe Martí at the wheel, while Bianca Bustamante returned for the Women's Test
CUPRA KIRO has completed the pre-season test at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia as the team continues to get set for the 2025/26 Formula E season.
Dan Ticktum and rookie Pepe Martí took to the track to gather valuable data and information, making improvements throughout the course of the test.
Overall, the Brit finished eighth, while the Spaniard placed 11th on the timesheets – the fastest of the rookie drivers. Together, the duo completed a total of 537 laps over the four days.
Friday saw the return of the Formula E Women's Test where CUPRA KIRO Development Driver, Bianca Bustamante, got back behind the wheel over the six hour session, building on her previous experience with the team.
CUPRA KIRO will now return to its headquarters to begin final preparations ahead of the season opening São Paulo E-Prix in December.
Dan Ticktum, Driver, CUPRA KIRO
"Overall a positive few days for us. The track and the tyre were quite unpredictable in general through the test which made it a bit difficult to get a read on some things, but we definitely learnt some trends that we'll take forward into the season to mitigate some of the weaknesses we have with the car. We've also found out some things about our software and the philosophy of our systems from Porsche as well which will be useful going into this year. But some good pace and we were progressing nicely through the week, I just didn't put the new tyres on at the right time in the last session which is a shame. I'm looking forward to this year, I think we are going to hit the ground running as we understand the car pretty well now."
Pepe Martí, Driver, CUPRA KIRO
"I'm very happy with how the pre-season test has gone. Obviously we started off in a position where everything was new to me, so I started off a bit lost. The first day we had a bit of an issue, so didn't run as much as we would've liked, but as the week has gone on we have improved. We ended up in a good position, two tenths off the quickest time, and on my ideal lap if I had put up a decent sector one then I could have been closer to the top. It was a nice way to end the test and good preparation ahead of Brazil, which I'm super excited for."
Bianca Bustamante, Development Driver, CUPRA KIRO
"It was great to do the Women's Test with the team and it felt really good today. With Pepe and Dan doing four days of testing prior, the balance was right in the window and the team's done a great job setting up perfectly before I got in. We left a little bit of potential on the table in terms of outright lap time, unable to really put it all together with a 350 Kw/h push lap, but it was a decent enough time to put us in the top six in the morning before we were able to make some changes and use a new set of tyres for the afternoon session."
Russell O'Hagan, Team Principal, CUPRA KIRO
"Overall, it has been a solid week for the team. We have hit a large number of our test objectives and worked efficiently around a limited tyre allocation and varying track conditions. With Dan, it’s been rewarding to be able to provide him such a productive test ahead of the season, especially in comparison to last season where we were in the very early phase of the project. It’s also been an important and promising week with Pepe, who has settled well and quickly into the team. He has shown good pace and has already started to master a number of the complexities of Formula E as he starts his journey in the championship. We had another constructive day with Bianca, who delivered on the objectives we set her in the Women’s Test following her previous outing in Berlin. It’s been a pleasure to watch her continue to develop her skills in and out of the car. Finally, a big thanks to the team and drivers for all their hard work across five busy and consecutive days on track. We are already looking forward to Sao Paulo and the start of a very exciting season ahead."
