A positive Extreme E debut buoyed up Emma Gilmour despite not making the Arctic X Prix final.
After accumulating the fifth-most points in qualifying, the Kiwi and co-driver Stephane Sarrazin were eliminated in the first semi-final.
Gilmour was strapped in for the start of the semi-final and immediately snatched the race lead at the first corner.
Former World Rally Champion and Dakar winner Carlos Sainz Snr soon muscled himself ahead of Gilmour.
But the series rookie held her composure and remained in P2 until the driver handover.
Sarrazin emerged onto the circuit in a heated tussle with Sebastien Loeb, who soon demoted Sarrazin to third.
Only the top two places advanced to the weekend’s final, meaning Sarrazin had to find a way ahead of Loeb to avoid elimination.
Seizing the initiative, Sarrazin dared an alternative route across the rock garden section of the course.
The move paid off exceptionally well as the Frenchman elevated himself into the lead.
However, with mere metres to go to the finish, Sarrazin slowed to limp. His opportunistic overtake resulted in a puncture and a broken steering arm.
Despite the heartbreak of not moving forward for a shot at the overall win, Gilmour praised the efforts of Sarrazin and the Veloce team.
“What an amazing race,” she said. “It was so exciting to watch.
“I thought ‘[Sarrazin] has done it, we’re going to be first and then ‘oh no we’re not so it was crazy, really crazy.
“I was happy with my run, though.
“I still have room for improvement but for the task that I had. It was always going to be a big ask with so little time in the car.
“Even just little things like the driver switch take a lot of getting used to, but I think Stéphane and I worked really well together.
“We were a bit unlucky, but I think there’s lots of positives to take away from the weekend.”
Attention now turns to the next round of the Extreme E championship, which is the Island X Prix on October 23-24.
That weekend also coincides with the penultimate round of the W Series, which Veloce’s usual female driver Jamie Chadwick competes in.
It means we could be seeing more of Gilmour in Extreme E this year.
