Pepe Marti pulls off a stunning recovery drive in Sanya

It was nothing short of miraculous. Pepe Marti, the 21-year-old talent at CUPRA KIRO, managed to transform an 18th-place grid start into a second-place finish at the 2026 Lianxin Sanya E-Prix. The race at the Haitang Bay circuit was pure chaos, featuring a Red Flag on Lap 11 after the Spaniard suffered significant rear-end damage in a multi-car incident.

Marti didn't blink. Restarting from 19th, he played the energy-saving game to absolute perfection. After a late Full Course Yellow helped consolidate his gains, he crossed the line third, only to be promoted to second once Andretti’s Felipe Drugovich was handed a five-second penalty for contact with Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein. Marti, who credited his mechanics for their lightning-fast repairs, called the result unexpected but noted that the Andretti pace played right into his hands.

This is a massive moment for the driver who only recently claimed his maiden Formula E podium in Monaco. With this performance in Sanya, he has secured 18 championship points, leaving him just one point behind Mahindra’s Nyck De Vries in the standings.