Jamie Chadwick and Sacha Fenestraz tested the Jaguar I-TYPE 4 for the first time in Marrakesh, Morocco, as part of the Rookie Testing day.
Rookie driver testing took place on Sunday 1 March, the day after the Marrakesh E-Prix and was open to drivers who have previously never held an e-licence.
The first of Jaguar's two drivers is Jamie Chadwick. The 21-year old Briton began racing go-karts at the age of 11 and her career has never looked back. At 17, she was the first woman and youngest driver to win the British GT Championship. In 2018, she became the first woman to win a British F3 race. Last February, she became the first female winner of the MRF Challenge series in Chennai.
In 2019, Chadwick joined the W Series, the first all-female single-seater championship. Asserting her skill and outright pace early on, Chadwick dominated the championship eventually lifting the trophy achieving 5 podiums from just 6 races.
Jamie said "I’m thrilled to be joining the Panasonic Jaguar Racing team for the official rookie test event in Marrakesh. I’m a huge fan of Formula E and everything that it stands for so to be teaming up with this race winning outfit is an incredible opportunity. I can’t wait to get in the car and work closely with the team to have a successful test."
When asked about the test day, Jamie said "It’s been a really productive day of testing; a lot has been learnt. I’ve been learning as much as I can, taking as much in as possible and providing Jaguar with all the relevant data they needed. As a driver I’m always going to want to spend more time and complete more laps in the Jaguar I-TYPE 4 but today had undoubtedly been very positive for everyone and I’m looking forward to what might come next."
The second Rookie racing for Jaguar was Sach Fenestraz. Twenty-year-old Sacha has raced in some of the most competitive single-seater series in the world. He was born in France and grew up in Argentina where he dominated the national karting scene. When he turned 13, he made the bold move to Europe to pursue his dream of becoming a racing driver.
In the early days of his career, Sacha asserted his dominance in French Formula F4, Formula Renault and FIA Formula 3 where he fine-tuned his race-craft. In 2019, he proved his worth by securing the Japanese Formula 3 title at his first attempt and achieved his third single seater title in five years. 2020 sees Sacha remain racing in Japan in the fast and competitive Super Formula and Super GT500 championships.
Sacha said "I am extremely happy and grateful for this amazing opportunity Panasonic Jaguar Racing have given me. I’m really looking forward to my first experience in the Jaguar I-TYPE 4, it’s going to be something very different to what I’m used to - I’ve never driven an electric racing car before. I’m like a kid with a new toy, I just can’t wait to get to Marrakesh."
Following testing Sacha said "This was my first time in a Formula E car and first time in Marrakesh – it has been very interesting and challenging at the same time. It is completely different to anything I have done before and I am very grateful to Panasonic Jaguar Racing for giving me this opportunity. I’ve learnt an enormous amount and the team have been able to gather useful data - I hope to return to the Formula E paddock soon."
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