It may still be a chilly January back home, but two impressive UK drivers are already making their mark internationally.

In a thrilling finish, Oliver Rowland took top honours in the Mexico City E-Prix while Dan Harper was part of the victorious BMW team which won the 24H Dubai.

At the end of last year, Rowland had been on target to win the opening round of the 2024/2025 FIA Formula E World Championship in Brazil before a red flag interruption scuppered his hopes. This time, though, the Nissan Formula E Team driver enjoyed far better luck.

Having run in the top four throughout the race, Rowland saved his Attack Mode until later compared to his fellow front-runners – a strategy which paid maximum dividends with the appearance of a late Safety Car. At the restart, maximising his extra power, the Yorkshireman scythed past the three cars in front of him with some bold moves to wrap up a remarkable win.

“It was fun and stressful,” he reflected. “I was there or thereabouts – but not super competitive. You could argue that I deserved to win in Sao Paulo, so a little bit of good fortune here makes up for the bad fortune we had in Brazil.”

“It was a great strategy from the team. We were initially unlucky with the timing of the Safety Car as I had just activated Attack Mode. Fortunately, once this period ended, I was left with around a minute of extra power, so I knew I had to be decisive when making those overtakes.”

The series continues next month with a maiden trip to Jeddah where the first double-header of the campaign takes place on 13-15 February.

Now 32 years old, Rowland was selected for the governing body’s driver development Academy back in 2012, joined by multiple WRC winner Elfyn Evans among others.

Harper, 24, is a much more recent graduate of the scheme which has successfully provided a performance pathway for the UK’s most talented young athletes to unlock their full potential.

The Northern Irishman has been tipped as one of world’s most promising young sportscar drivers since winning the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain in 2019. He backed that up by adding the British GT Championship to his increasingly distinguished CV in 2023.

Now, as an official BMW factory driver, Harper has achieved his biggest career win to date in the Middle East, simultaneously giving the new BMW M4 GT3 EVO overall victory on its debut.

Joined by Darren Leung, who represented Team UK in last October’s FIA Motorsport Games, Al Faisal Al Zubair, Ben Tuck and Max Hesse, Harper qualified fourth and was among the front-runners throughout the full 24 hours at the Dubai Autodrome. The quintet finally finished a lap clear of the second placed Porsche, the crew of which included another recent Team UK member, Harry King.

“What a result – a great victory,” enthused the delighted Harper. “It was a fantastic race and I’m so glad to get my first 24 hour-race victory under my belt! Hopefully many more to come!”