There’s no denying that the previous season of System E was an enormous success for Jaguar. A groups’ world championship and the inaugural producers’ crown represented an honest haul for the British model, however regardless of having two drivers in competition proper as much as the ultimate day, the headline prize evaded them.
However, Jaguar TCS Racing group principal James Barclay, refuses to let that outline the group’s earlier marketing campaign.
“I feel the very first thing is, the group is at all times type of open,” he instructed RACER in Sao Paulo forward of the Season 11 opener. “The fact is, sure, we have been actually dissatisfied we didn’t win the drivers’ world championship. Professionally and personally, for each our drivers, I’d have cherished to have seen them obtain that. However two out of three world championships is unimaginable in System E.
“The group had a tremendous yr final yr, and that’s one thing which everybody on the group, together with drivers, is admittedly, actually completely happy about and actually obsessed with. Sure, after all, on the strain level of London the ultimate day, as that unfolded, that was a very powerful second once you don’t win one of many three world championships. However as a group, we mirrored, we celebrated successful our two championships.”
On the surface, questions have been requested of whether or not the group ought to’ve thrown its weight behind one driver in a bid to cease eventual champion Pascal Wehrlein of Porsche, somewhat than letting Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy each go at it. However Barclay insists the group did the appropriate factor.
“We regarded, as we at all times do each race, to say, ‘What can we do higher over a season?’ And truthfully, we, as a group, I feel we did the appropriate factor. We gave each drivers equal alternative going to the final race in London. Think about somebody making that call, taking you out of that chance, once you nonetheless stand an opportunity. And each our drivers did stand an opportunity.
“So I feel there might have been some criticism, however fairly frankly, until you’re on this camp, you don’t perceive what you must do.”
Barclay stated that on reflection, each Evans and Cassidy have been pleased with the method, however ought to the group discover itself in an identical spot on the finish of this season, it may change the way it approaches issues.
“The drivers mirrored, and I feel additionally agreed that no less than we gave them each equal alternative,” he stated. “However after all, we’ll take a look at these items and say, in all probability, if it comes all the way down to the final race, if we’re in a lucky place the place we’re combating for championships coming the final race of this season, we’ll do issues in another way, sure, since you do assume a method, you study from that, and also you evolve. We’re at all times a piece in progress, (and) that’s undoubtedly one thing we’ll keep in mind.
“This yr we’d like to be in that place, however we don’t take it without any consideration. It’s a reset of the aggressive order and we now have to do a job to place ourselves in that ‘first world drawback’ place to say, if we now have to make a name round one of many drivers having that lead alternative come the again finish of the season, then we’ll make that decision. However we firstly must get ourselves to that time.”
The brand new season marks the introduction of the GEN3 Evo system, and with Jaguar ending the outgoing GEN3 period on the prime of the tree, it comes into the brand new marketing campaign with a goal firmly on its again. Work on the brand new automotive, nonetheless, started two years in the past, earlier than its predecessor had even run a race. The intention with the I-Kind 7 was, naturally, to enhance each factor of the I-Kind 6, however little did they know simply how excessive the expectations would come to be once they started the undertaking.
“There’s a saying in sport, ‘Whenever you’re main you’re the goal, and once you’re not, you’ll be able to comply with that focus on,’ so you need to change the sport. That’s the truth,” Barclay stated. “So we took a call even earlier than we knew that the I-Kind 6 would go on to be essentially the most profitable System E automotive, just about, for the reason that championship began, with race wins and factors on the scored between us and Envision. That’s a tough act to comply with, however we didn’t know that on the time.
“We’d wish to assume we now have a very aggressive bundle, however I feel on the identical time, whereas we in all probability have discovered efficiency, I feel so have all these producers who perhaps didn’t have essentially the most aggressive packages for the previous few years.
“I truthfully assume within the first a part of the season, you’ll be able to see numerous groups and producers being aggressive. It’s about how you’re employed by the early a part of the season, how you retain evolving and creating the automotive to be sure you end one of the simplest ways attainable and preserve enhancing because the yr goes on.
“It’s going to be a very thrilling season, however I’d wish to assume we now have the core components to have a very aggressive bundle. We simply have to see the place everybody else is.”
Not like the final two seasons, which started on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez in Mexico Metropolis, this marketing campaign begins on the Anhembi Sambadrome in Sao Paulo, which is extra of a typical System E circuit. Due to that, Barclay thinks it’ll be extra consultant of how the remainder of the yr will look.
“Mexico is a little bit of an anomaly, and also you see the outcomes of Mexico don’t at all times type of replicate the total season to a point,” he identified. “It is a extra conventional 90-degree type nook location you see in System E — medium-speed, low-speed, a bit little bit of high-speed, however you don’t have that lengthy, lengthy, lengthy ultimate nook (like) in Mexico. It’s fairly uncommon for what we see in FE so sure, that is undoubtedly extra of a traditional observe and subsequently, I feel what you’ll see right here might be a in all probability extra consultant view of the aggressive order.”
