Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans endured a frustrating finish to this morning’s opening Portland E-Prix, with Cassidy spinning out of the lead on the penultimate lap.
Evans, who was running second when Cassidy went off, took the chequered flag first but was relegated to eighth once a five-second time penalty was applied for an earlier collision with Jake Hughes.
Cassidy crossed the line in 19th and scored no points but remains in the championship lead with a healthy 24-point advantage after closest rival Pascal Wehrlein could only manage tenth.
“On a positive note, I think today I had 25 of the best laps I’ve driven in Formula E,” said Cassidy.
“I managed the energy, the car was very good, and we positioned ourselves well. So, I’m going to take that for now and go into tomorrow knowing that we have three races left in the Championship with a good lead. I won’t let this moment define those next three races.
Despite finishing eighth, Evans reduced the gap to the lead two with a good haul of eight points, taking bonuses for qualifying on pole and setting the fastest lap. He is only three points behind Wehrlein and 27 adrift of his teammate.
“These races are really hard to execute, but as a team we keep delivering and deserved some big points today,” said Evans.
“It’s tricky and frustrating to take. I think it was an unfortunate set of circumstances that led to the incident today, but I don’t think that the penalty reflected the incident. We’ll now look forward to tomorrow.”
Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa was the biggest benefactor from the Kiwi’s misfortunes, taking the race win ahead of Envision’s Robin Frijns and Penske’s Jean-Eric Vergne.
Evans qualified on pole courtesy of victory in the final duel over Norman Nato, with Jake Hughes and Frijns locking out row two. Cassidy failed to progress through the group stages and was left starting from 13th.
Evans held his lead through the opening corners, only for Hughes to sweep up the inside at Turn 3.
Nato and Jake Dennis then hit the front on the subsequent tour before the first Attack Mode activations triggered a strategic battle at the front.
Energy saving and a slower pace were evident over the opening circuits, and the lead cycled between several drivers, including Evans.
The Kiwi’s hopes were dashed on Lap 16, however, when race stewards deemed contact with Hughes avoidable.
While the battles unfolded up front, Cassidy crept his way forward and was in the lead with 10 laps to run. Three laps later, Cassidy put the hammer down at the front, with da Costa and Evans following.
Da Costa briefly hit the front on Lap 22, but Cassidy reclaimed the position a lap later before Evans moved into second, ahead of da Costa, and began to play rear gunner.
With victory seeming all but assured, Cassidy ran over the inside curb at Turn 11 and out wide, spinning off and over the grass. Evans went through to take the on-track win, with da Costa taking the top spot once the penalty was applied.
Formula E returns with qualifying for Race 2 of the Portland E-Prix at 4.30 am on Monday, followed by the race at 8.00 am.
Header Image: Jaguar TCS Racing
