RIYADH — A thrilling weekend of motorsport came to a dramatic Formula E climax as Alexander Sims took the checkered flag in part two of the double header of the SAUDIA Diriyah E-Prix.

After taking pole position in qualifying, the BMW i Andretti Motorsport driver led all the way to take his first-ever Formula E victory.

The race on the Diriyah Circuit was packed with incidents with three cars crashing out, including day one winner Sam Bird, and the safety car deployed twice.

Sims’ BMW i Andretti Motorsport teammate Max Guenther claimed the second place on the podium. Meanwhile the third place was taken by António Félix da Costa of the DS Techeetah team.

The Saudia Diriyah E-Prix heralded the start of season six of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship and made motorsport history as the biggest ever field of cars and drivers at the Diriyah Circuit as manufacturers Porsche and Mercedes made their Formula E debuts.

On day one, Envision Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird held on for victory in race one of the doubleheader, beating Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E racer Andre Lotterer who came second and Stoffel Vandoorne of Mercedes who took third.

After making history as the first Saudi female to drive competitively in the Kingdom, Reema Juffali was back in action as the VIP driver on day two of the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY, along with Team Saudi drivers Fahad Algosaibi and Mashhur Bal Hejaila.

Fahad climbed to the podium in the Pro-Am category on day one coming second but, on day two, there was drama as he crashed into the wall and out of the race.

Instead it was Bal Hejaila’s turn to climb the Pro-Am podium in third. The Pro-Am race on day two was won by Zhang Yao and the Pro category was won by Sergio Jimenez. — SG