Cassidy fourth in New York after late clash with Vergne

Nick Cassidy’s hopes of a maiden Formula E race win were put on hold this morning in New York, with the Kiwi coming home fourth.

Cassidy had qualified on pole for the second time in his career just hours before the race.

The series rookie then held his own into turn one and commanded most of the opening three-quarters of the race.

However, Cassidy fell into the clutches of Jean-Eric Vergne entering the final ten minutes of the race.

Vergne used his fan boost power advantage to slash Cassidy’s advantage before dashing down the inside into the turn ten hairpin.

The two collided, with Cassidy bullied out wide. Vergne also opened the door for Maximilian Guenther to sweep past into the race lead.

Cassidy was the biggest loser amid the clash, falling to fourth and behind Lucas di Grassi.

“It is one of those things,” Cassidy said.

“A little bit over the top from [Vergne], but I have a lot of respect for him as well.

“That’s racing. It is unfortunate, but that is the way it goes.”

Other factors outside Cassidy’s control also hindered his race.

While using his attack mode, an ill-time Full Course Yellow meant Cassidy couldn’t extend his margin while in the race lead.

Still, he bagged a healthy tally of points, something that couldn’t be said about fellow New Zealander Mitch Evans.

The Jaguar Racing driver qualified 16th, a victim of Group 1, and lost drive midway through the race.

The DNF and consequent zero points meant Evans dropped to sixth in the championship. Still, he remains 12 points behind joint leaders Edoardo Mortara and Robin Frijns.

There is one more race tomorrow, with a scheduled start time of 5.30 am NZT.