Buemi tops opening day of collective Formula E testing - MotorSportsTalk

Defending FIA Formula E champion Sebastien Buemi sent out an early warning shot to his title rivals by comfortably topping the opening day of collective testing at Donington Park.

Teams were afforded six hours of running on Tuesday following the conclusion of private testing, allowing them to gauge the pace of their rivals and run through any processes and procedures ahead of the new season.

Jerome d’Ambrosio led the morning session for Dragon, but times tumbled in the afternoon as 10 drivers went quicker than the fastest time from this point in testing last year.

Sam Bird led for DS Virgin Racing with 30 minutes to go, only for season two title rivals Buemi and Lucas di Grassi to head out for a final run.

Di Grassi edged out Bird to take P1 away, but spent mere moments at the helm of the timesheets as Buemi went eight-tenths of a second faster to take top spot.

“Today was a very good day. It’s only the first day of testing so we can’t draw a lot of conclusions, but it’s clear it’s better to be ahead than behind!” Buemi said.

“We checked the developments we have made to the car over last year and our time – practically a new lap record – shows we are quicker than last year. It’s a good start so we will see how it continues tomorrow.”

The day was filled with brief stoppages, but most of the teams were able to conduct some significant running. After a nightmare in 2015, Andretti had few problems as Antonio Felix da Costa enjoyed his first public run for the team.

Tuesday also marked the first public run for the new Jaguar Formula E team, which is making its first foray into top-line international motorsport since the conclusion of its ill-fated Formula 1 project that ended in 2004.

Jaguar is yet to make a final call on its line-up for the coming season, with running being shared by Alex Lynn and Adam Carroll on Tuesday. Mitch Evans and Harry Tincknell are set for outings later this week alongside Carroll.

Nick Heidfeld enjoyed a late charge for Mahindra to finish second ahead of di Grassi and Bird, with d’Ambrosio’s late lap lifting him to P5. Lynn was the leading Jaguar driver in sixth, 1.2 seconds off Buemi, while recent Indy Lights driver Felix Rosenqvist was P7 in his first public Formula E test.

Daniel Abt finished eighth ahead of Carroll and Jose Maria Lopez, the latter making his public debut for DS Virgin Racing. Maro Engel also made his first appearance for Venturi, finishing at the foot of the timesheets.

Testing continues at Donington Park on Wednesday with another six hours of running.

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Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

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The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

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Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

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