WHILE the freezing weather called off all sport in Barnsley last weekend, one person from the town was in much warmer climes and enjoyed significant success.
Oliver Rowland, from Penistone, won the second race of the Formula E season in Mexico City.
After finishing fourth in qualifying, he remained in that position until late on but overtook the top three - all ex Formula E champions - within one lap.
That was during his use of a second ‘attack mode’ which adds an extra 25 kilowatts of power and, despite a crash and safety car intervention initially slowing him down, he made it count.
The race took place in the 110,000-capacity Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez stadium which also hosts Mexico City’s Formula One event.
The win took Rowland up to second in the overall standings after two races.
The 31-year-old almost won the first one in Brazil last month but was denied by a late time penalty, having also finished last season with victory in London to secure fourth place overall.
That was his career best finish in a campaign but now he is looking to compete for the title.
Rowland said: “I’m delighted to take this victory in Mexico.
“It’s always been a track that I’ve wanted to win at with amazing fans in an incredible stadium.
“It was a great strategy from the team, but we were initially unlucky with the timing of the safety car as I had just activated attack mode.
“However, fortunately, once this period ended, we were left with around a minute of extra power, so I just knew I had to be decisive when making those overtakes.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling to get this win for the team after I made a small mistake in the (qualifying) duels.
“My thoughts go out to my performance engineer, Asier Sebastián, who was taken to hospital with acute appendicitis, and I wish him all the best in his recovery and hope he can be back with us at the track soon.”
Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal of Nissan Formula E, said: “It’s an amazing result for the team and to achieve this victory in Mexico, which is such an important market for Nissan, and in front of these brilliant fans is very special.
“Oli’s performance was excellent, with strong pace and brilliant overtakes in the very last laps of the race.
“It was an incredible day and the performance this weekend gives us lots of confidence heading into the rest of the season.”
The electric car series is back in action on February 14 and 15 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
There is then a two-month break before a meeting in Miami then regular races throughout the summer in Monaco, Tokyo, Shanghai, Jakarta, Berlin and London.
