Kiwi Ace Mitch Evans Dominates Shanghai GT Race, Fires Back at Wehrlein’s Accusations
In a thrilling display of driving prowess, Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans secured a decisive victory in the opening race of the Shanghai GT double-header weekend. The Kiwi driver fended off a spirited challenge from Pascal Wehrlein, sparking a war of words between the two rivals.
Evans crossed the finish line first in the inaugural Shanghai E-Prix, but the celebrations were short-lived as Wehrlein accused the Jaguar driver of employing team tactics to slow him down and allow teammate Nick Cassidy to pass.
“I mean, it’s funny he mentions that because he did that in a race [Berlin] to help Antonio, slowing us up,” Evans hit back. “So yeah, I think he’s a bit oblivious to what he does on track and then accuses others; I wasn’t trying to slow him up really, I was just trying to position my car to try and give Nick an overlap on him on the last lap.”
Both drivers were summoned to the stewards’ office after the race, but ultimately escaped any penalty. Evans, however, expressed his surprise at being called in, feeling that the situation was not handled particularly well.
“I honestly didn’t feel like I did anything wrong when I was in the car and that really was backed up in the stewards room,” the Kiwi explained. “Even though we were racing hard, I did leave in the cars with and he opted to cut the track, which it’s all fine to do if he thought he was going to be run out of road but it was quickly acknowledged in the stewards room that I did leave in sufficient space, and he opted to cut the track.”
The inaugural Shanghai E-Prix took place on a revised layout of the Shanghai International Circuit, home to the Chinese Grand Prix. While the opening race was a typically frenetic affair, the second encounter was a calmer affair, with Antonio Felix da Costa emerging victorious.
Evans remained undecided on whether the Shanghai circuit passed the test for it to continue on the calendar, citing the unique challenges presented by the permanent facility.
“It was kind of hard to know how the track was going to be, just because of the nature of it being a permanent facility, very wide, and obviously we’ve had a few of them over the course of the last couple of years,” the Jaguar driver explained. “And I guess we’re all pretty worried as well going into it because of the nature of what kind of can of worms that opens up for the racing; I think one thing that really helped China compared to other tracks like Misano, and maybe Berlin to an extent, is there weren’t as many slow speed corners, so the track was a lot more flowing.”
With the Shanghai GT double-header in the books, the focus now shifts to the upcoming Diriyah E-Prix, where Evans will be aiming to build on his strong start to the season.
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