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Kevin Siggy is back with BMW i Andretti Motorsport for the six-race Formula E: Accelerate series - the all-electric racing championship's new esports competition - following his peerless performance in 2019's ABB Formula E Race at Home Challenge in Support of UNICEF.
Siggy consistently asserted himself as the man to beat throughout the eight-round championship last year – sealing the title by an effective 48-point margin.
The 22-year-old eventually secured the honours with a high of four race victories around the streets of Monte Carlo, Hong Kong and Brooklyn’s docklands in New York and at the winner-takes-all Grand Final on the return to Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport – holding off his closest rival, German Lucas Mueller, once again to take the prize drive.
Pre-race nerves
Heading into Formula E: Accelerate's opening round in New York, however, Siggy wasn't taking anything for granted despite his past success there in the Gen2 car - such is the level of the grid in Formula E's latest esports series, and given new the addition of energy management to the fold with the latest update to rFactor 2's simulation.
"Before qualifying I was nervous but excited to start a new season," said the Slovenian. "The nerves were there because I didn’t know for real how everyone else was doing – especially the people I haven’t raced with before like Frederik (Rasmussen). So, it was nerve wracking to say the least going into qualifying.
"The level of competition is much, much higher than in the Race at Home Challenge. I only had Lucas Mueller and Petar Brjlak in the fight for the championship. This time around, I’ve got Frederik (Rasmussen) and Erhan (Jajovski) in the mix as well as a number of other big names.
"I think they’re the most threatening ones even if Frederik wasn’t in his best moment in the first round. He’s definitely going to be someone to look out for and he made up ground in the race last time out. I feel I still have the edge over them but the level is higher and some people are tricky to overtake but that’s the name of the game."
An exciting extra headache
"ATTACK MODE is interesting and it’s been very cool trying to understand how it works and how to adapt in those three or four laps when you’re using it. Energy management is really demanding. The usage here is just so diverse and it’s so hard to know how much you’re going to use per lap.
READ MORE: Take a look at the full Formula E: Accelerate line-up
"Obviously, that’s something we’ll get used to but to me at the moment, it’s a bit too much to manage. Maybe it’s that same challenge in real life, but I can say I’ve enjoyed it so far. It’s something fresh and spicy in the races.
"I love going flat out and giving everything every single lap but this addition is good for the sport and it’s great for people to watch. It’s something else for us to worry about rather than just hitting our marks every single corner. I will try and adapt to it and see if I can come out on top."
On the back foot
Siggy made an uncharacteristic error in qualifying, which he says cost him around half-a-second and resulted in fourth place only for the BMW man.
Minus the error, the 22-year-old feels he would have had enough to take pole position, where eventual race winner of Round 1 Erhan Jajovski found himself - the North Macedonian leading lights-to-flag out front, which made the victory look a far easier task than it surely was.
Damage as a result of a turn one incident which saw Envision Virgin Racing's Graham Carroll slapped with a post-race 10 second penalty meant Siggy was hampered in his chase from lap one.
Wrangling with energy management also caused the Slovenian some issues with others around him - such as Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler's Manuel Biancolilla - seemingly adapting a little more quickly to the addition of what is a key feature of any E-Prix.
"After first practice, I knew where I was," said Siggy. I felt the strongest again in the car despite a couple of minor issues. I felt confident from there and that’s how I felt before the start of the race.
READ MORE: Jajovski: 'Winning Formula E: Accelerate opener means the world'
"The start was okay, and I tried to go around the outside of Graham (Carroll) but he basically lifted and pushed me into the wall which damaged my right-front suspension. That was really not so nice.
"I stayed behind and tried to save as much energy as I could and when I used ATTACK MODE, I was trying to gain track position, which I did on Graham and then Manuel (Biancolilla) as well – he seemed to be going pretty slowly during my ATTACK MODE run.
"I was trying to use that momentum and that moment to overtake them and see if I could pull out some sort of gap to the guys behind. It didn’t work the way I wanted it too because I was using way too much energy, and they obviously were able to get me back.
"It was still a decent race from my perspective. I wasn’t entirely happy with the result because qualifying was a bit of a disaster for me. I feel like I could have gone another half a second quicker than Erhan (Jajovski) managed on his run. Unfortunately, I hit the wall in the middle sector which lost me three tenths of a second, and another tenth into the next corner.
"I knew coming into qualifying that I was a couple of tenths faster than everyone else and that showed in practice but after the conundrum in qualifying and too much energy usage in the race, third is the best I could manage with the damage I had.!
Making up for lost time
Heading into Round 2 and Hong Kong on Thursday, Siggy's aim is nailing qualifying, and a shot at a maximum points haul. The confident sim racer feels he has the measure of those around him having found his feet in Round 1, and wants to bring home the bacon for BMW i Andretti Motorsport this time around - a team he is incredibly proud to represent.
"I showed a glimpse of what I’m capable of, so it’s just about nailing the lap and not getting any issues," he continued. "I think Hong Kong will be a little easier in terms of energy management, so it’s just focussing on getting that one lap right in qualifying and pull it off this time around to get my revenge.
"It wasn’t my initial target but I’ll see if I can get a clean sweep of pole, fastest lap and the race win next time around – I feel I’m the strongest guy in the car. That’s what I expect and that’s what BMW i Andretti Motorsport expects.
"It’s my second time representing the team and it really is an honour. It’s such a big brand in the industry and it’s surreal to me that I can represent such a company – I’m so happy about being given the opportunity and I relish it – there’s no fear from me.
"I like Hong Kong but it’s not up there with Berlin and New York which are my favourites. It’s still very diverse, and really tricky – you can easily make a mistake and crash out as I almost did in the Race at Home Challenge.
"It’s simpler than New York in my opinion and there are more overtaking opportunities, but there are still sections that are a real challenge."
Siggy's ultimate goal in Formula E: Accelerate? Add the cherry on top of his Race at Home Challenge triumph with the title here.
"I won the Race at Home Challenge, which was amazing, but winning Formula E: Accelerate would really be the cherry on top. The prize is huge and I want to keep my flow in sim racing – and keep looking to the future, maybe even into real racing if I can secure the backing.
"It would mean a lot to win – Formula E is a huge series and a lot of racing people tune in, so getting to drive in front of these guys and show them what I’m about is always great."
Round 2 of Formula E: Accelerate will take place on Thursday at 1900 UTC, streamed live on Formula E's Twitch, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter channels, with the field taking on an inch-perfect virtual recreation of the Hong Kong Harbourfront E-Prix circuit.