Nick Cassidy is gunning to tackle the challenges that will come with his maiden year in Formula E.
The New Zealander is less than a week out from the start of the 2021 season, where he will be one of three rookies in the 24-strong field.
Forging his success in Japan over the last five years, Cassidy has only had limited experience in the world of Formula E.
A key difference between his racing in Japan and Formula E is that the all-electric formula competes primarily on street circuits.
In an interview with Autosport, Cassidy said that he expects his first season to test his ability to acclimatise to a new form of racing. He added that results this year won’t matter as much as progress made between every round.
“I haven’t been thinking about the results too much,” Cassidy said.
“The series has a huge set of new challenges for me, so I’m going through the processes of taking as much information as I can.
“I’ll try to be as ready as we can with the limited preparation there’s been and do the best job I can. That’s more the mindset. I’m prepared for the unexpected, and I know that there will be tough times for sure.
“I’m certainly not expecting it to be easy going. And in that case, it would be foolish to expect a certain result because anything is possible if we get the processes right.
“For sure, in my first year [there will be] that little bit of extra learning aspect.
“I think I’ve done less than six days total, five and a bit in the car at all. Definitely heading into the first race with not many days, the least of everyone by far, but that’s part of the challenge and I’m up for it.”
Cassidy’s new team, Envision Virgin, has occasionally proven to be title contenders but far too often have their championship challenge hindered by ill-fortune and poor reliability.
The team will undoubtedly be encouraged by Cassidy’s versatility, and the Kiwi said that the outfit’s pursuit of excellence was what attracted him to sign a deal.
“I wanted to join Virgin for a reason,” he said. “They are a tightly-knit group of people who are very intelligent, very efficient and for the number of days we do get, certainly from what I’ve seen so far, they have been used very wisely.
“It’s a negative not having as many days to be out on track for sure. [But I am] quite proud to be working with the group of people I am and the opportunities that we have been given have been used very well.”