Molly Taylor has had a tough start to the 2022 Extreme E Championship after finishing the Desert Grand Prix in ninth place.
 
With the season opener taking place in Saudi Arabia, it was a new look for the inaugural champion, who moved on from Rosberg X Racing in the off season to join Swedish Rallycross star Kevin Hansen at Jensen Button’s JBXE outfit.
 
After finishing third in the championship last year, the team had high hopes for a strong start to 2022 but a rear diff and driveshaft failure in qualifying one prevented them from getting any higher than ninth during the session.
 
Taylor then delivered a huge performance in the second qualifying session, which saw her move up the field and finish third in the second heat and as a result, earn a place in the round’s crazy race.
 
A good result in the crazy race would have seen the team secure a spot in the finale and in the running for a round.
 
Hansen had the honour of starting the race off and took the lead early where he stayed throughout the rest of his stint before handing the reins off to the Australian.
 
Taylor then continued on her way towards the victory but couldn’t prevent Tanner Foust in the McLaren XE entry from passing her on the final lap after he activated his Hyperdrive on the final few corners.
 
Upon being passed, Taylor did her best to recover the lead but lost control and went wide on the final turn, allowing ABT CUPRA XE’s Nasser Al-Attiyah to pass her and steal second place.
 
The result saw the team miss out on the final race, which was won by her former teammate Johan Kristoffersson and successor Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky for RXR.
 
Click here to view the final standings. 
 
The next round of the Extreme E Championship is the Island X Prix in Sardinia on 7-8 May.