Piquet Jr extends contract with NEXTEV TCR, Turvey debuting in London

Formula E championship leader Nelson Piquet Jr signed a new multi-year contract deal with his current NEXTEV TCR team. Second news from Chinese Formula E team is that another driver at seasons finale in London will be Oliver Turvey.

Brasilian ex-F1 driver Nelson Piquet Jr leads in the championship standings of Formula E by 17 points ahead another Brasilian Lucas di Grassi and 23 points ahead Swiss Sebastien Buemi, with just two races remaining. Both races are scheduled for 27 and 28 June in Battersea Park in London.

New contract is a prove that both Piquet and team are satisfied with cooperation so far, even if Brasilian will fail to win championship.
“We have had some amazing results together this season and as we build our experience together we are looking to grow as a force in this championship and be consistent championship contenders. I have loved racing in Formula E, I think it’s an exciting place to be in racing. The grid is strong, the car technology will keep developing and we’re offering something really exciting for fans racing in cities. For now our focus turns to the remainder of this season and aiming for the title,” said Piquet Jr.

NEXTEV TCR team principal Steven Lu added: “I am delighted to continue working with the most talented driver in Formula E. I knew Nelson since the start of my A1 Team China in A1GP 2005, and he impressed us by winning first ever A1GP race in Brands Hatch. When I saw the smiles from my engineers after the tests in Donington, I believed Nelson would bring maximum efforts to be the winner of Formula E inaugural season. Nelson will also be the key to the success of our future powertrain development and industrial plan, we all believe electric cars are the future, and we are winning from the very beginning.”

Chinese team, which started championship as China Racing, through the season changed not only name but four drivers. Piquet Jr is constant pick, others were Ho-Pin Tung, Antonio Garcia and Charles Pic. New driver on the grid at London races will be 28-years old British Oliver Turvey.

Turvey is employee of McLaren and in 2015 had only three races, two in Japanese Super GT Championship with Honda NSX-GT of Drago Modulo Honda Racing and last weekend at 24h Le Mans he was second in LMP2 category with Jota Sport prototype. Last year Turvey and Jota Sport had won LPM2 category at Le Mans.