Nick Cassidy has finished today’s first race of the Jakarta E-Prix in seventh place, making ground from 10th on the grid to join a lead pack of seven who ran well clear of the pack.
It was a contrast in fortunes for Mitch Evans, the Jaguar TCS Racing driver hit by teammate Sam Bird for the second time this season to spin off at Turn 1 from eighth in the dying stages.
Bird also ran into late issues after spinning Evans, Jaguar missing out on a good haul of points having sat eighth and ninth with four laps to run.
Pascal Wehrlein was the eventual race winner, the German returning to form following a mid-season slump after winning two of the first three races.
Jake Dennis put in a late challenge for the win but was forced to settle for second ahead of pole-sitter Maximilian Gunther, the front three running clear in the closing stages.
Stoffel Vandoorne and Jean-Eric Vergne finished for fourth and fifth, respectively, for DS Penske, while Edoardo Mortara was sixth, one spot ahead of Cassidy, who held seventh with Antonio Felix Da Costa some 15 seconds down the road in eighth.
Both Kiwis had been quick from the start, Cassidy moving from tenth to eighth on Lap 1, while Evans also gained a spot to sit 10th. Gunther also got a great launch from pole, the German leading the opening exchanges until Wehrlein managed to find a way through on Lap 4.
Vandoorne was the first of the leaders to utilise his attack mode, the field having eight minutes of extra power to use over two bursts in the race. The lead pack soon followed suit, Cassidy gaining a further spot to sit seventh as a steady rhythm set in.
Evans was one of the last drivers to use his first attacking stint, taking track position to move to eighth before using his first stint after the halfway point, retaining eighth.
Cassidy had looked to make a move on Vergne for fifth at the start of Lap 20, putting his nose up the inside coming from a distance back, but the gap closed, and the two cars came into contact. The Kiwi escaped damage but lost ground on the leaders as a spin threatened; he eventually corrected himself and was able to hold sixth position.
By Lap 24, Wehrlein, Dennis and Gunther were locked in a fierce battle for the lead, Vandoorne, Vergne and Cassidy making good ground to set the race up for a thrilling final ten laps.
Cassidy used his final attack mode at this point, a six-minute stint dropping him to seventh but with extra power at his disposal. Evans also used his last attack mode, retaining eighth but 5 seconds behind Cassidy and the lead pack.
Wehrlein, Dennis and Gunther responded, again pulling clear to have a 2-second lead over the pack with just four laps remaining. The gap between Cassidy and Evans in seventh and eighth also extended to almost 11 seconds.
Bird ran clean into the back of Evans on Lap 32, the Kiwi spinning off and becoming the only non-classified driver of the race. Bird then ran into trouble, making contact with Rene Rast the next lap to come home 21st.
Sebastien Buemi was the other driver to run into difficulty, the Envision driver suffering a puncture early on to run a lonely race at the rear of the field.
Cassidy retains the top spot in the standings, but Wehrlein sits just two points behind. Evans drops from fourth to fifth on the ladder.
Formula E returns for a further race tomorrow, with coverage beginning at 7.30 pm on Sky Sport.
Header Image: Envision Racing
