Team Aguri principalAguri Suzuki announced he would leave the team in April 2016 as senior personnel entered "a period of consultation" over a future change in ownership.[7] In the week before the2016 London ePrix, the Chinese public equity and venture capital firmChina Media Capital announced its purchase of Team Aguri and established a new entity named Techeetah in its place.[8][9] Senior personnel from Team Aguri, including team principalMark Preston, retained their jobs with Techeetah,[10] and the cars ran a custom Renault powertrain.[11]
The team entered the sport following the acquisition ofTeam Aguri in 2016.[12] In July 2016,Jean-Éric Vergne andQinghua Ma (who competed with Team Aguri in the final rounds of the previous season prior to CMC's takeover) were confirmed as the team's drivers.[13] WithRenault providing powertrains for Techeetah'sdebut season, Vergne scored the team's maiden podium with a second place at theBuenos Aires ePrix. In March 2017, Techeetah announced former F1 driverEsteban Gutiérrez would replace Ma from round four onwards.[14] However, after Gutiérrez left the team after only three races after being given an opportunity withDale Coyne Racing to compete in theIndyCar Series, the team then signedStéphane Sarrazin to compete with the team for the remainder of the season.[15]
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Techeetah signedAndré Lotterer to partner Vergne for its second season in the series.[16] Vergne was supremely consistent over the whole course of the season, finishing on points in every race, accumulating 198 points and winning the Drivers' Championship.[17][18] The team got overtaken byAudi at the last second, missing out on Teams' Championship by only two points.[19]
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In July 2018,Peugeot Sport withDS Automobiles-rebadged partnered with Techeetah and the team renamed to DS Techeetah.[20] Techeetah switched powertrain fromRenault toDS Automobiles powertrain,[21] which also makes Techeetah a manufacturer team with its own DS E-TENSE.[22] In October 2018, DS Techeetah introduced its new headquarters inVersailles.James Rossiter andZhou Guanyu were announced as the development drivers for Techeetah the 2018/2019 season.[23]
Techeetah's other line-up remained unchanged for the 2018–19 season. After the first race inNew York City,Jean-Éric Vergne secured enough points to become the Drivers' Champion, winning his second Formula E championship.[24][25] Techeetah won their first ever team championship in Formula E.[26] Lotterer subsequently left the team, switching toPorsche.[27]
In September 2019, it was announced thatAntónio Félix da Costa would replace Lotterer in the team (as he had departed for the newPorsche Formula E Team).[28] Vergne was set to continue with the team as he signed a long-term contract back in 2018.[29]
António Félix da Costa testing his Spark SRT05e in Valencia
In the 2021-2022 season DS Techeetah was registered as a French team, though the ownership were still under SECA and China Media Capital.[citation needed]
Techeetah missed the 2022–23 season, with a view to returning to the grid for the 2023–24 season. The team has not competed inFormula E since the start of theGen 3 Era. Despite the team success, SECA failed to yield the expected investment or sell-on and that has ultimately led to it falling off the grid ahead of 2023.[35]
Techeetah became the first Formula E team to join theJaguar I-Pace eTrophy support series, fielding one car for the inaugural2018–19 season withStefan Rzadzinski behind the wheel. The team competed under the nameTWR Techeetah and was part of the Pro class.[36] The eTrophy entry included an arrangement with Ryan Walkinshaw to return his late fatherTom'sTWR brand to international motorsport.
A plain white livery was used during the first round inAd Diriyah. Before the second round inMexico City, a retroSilk Cut-based livery was introduced, which has been in use ever since.[37] Rzadzinski's deal with the team came to end before theBerlin ePrix. FormerPanasonic Jaguar Racing driver and2008–09 A1GP championAdam Carroll was announced as his replacement.[38] The team, however, completely withdrew from the following round held inNew York City.[39]
The team's best result came at theParis ePrix, where Rzadzinski finished second. For the majority of the season, the TWR Techeetah team was consistently behind the likes of Jaguar Brazil Racing andRahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, whose drivers were regularly competing for wins. It was also the only team in the Pro class to not win a race during the season.
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Stefan Rzadzinski
Adam Carroll
