Photo Credit: Panasonic Jaguar Racing
Mitch Evans has finished within a tenth of Antonio Felix da Costa to finish second in the first practice session of the Marrakesh Formula E event.
Da Costa set the fastest time of 1m 17.863s to top the session, whilst Kiwi Mitch Evans followed in behind with a 1m 17.966s and BMW i Andretti Motorsport’s Maximillian Gunther in third with a 1m 18.062s.
Evan set his fastest time with 40 seconds remaining in the session, which momentarily saw the Panasonic Jaguar Racing driver at the top of the timing sheets, until Da Costa pipped him 20 seconds later.
Brendon Hartley had a less successful session, as both NIO 333 FE Team cars struggled for pace. Hartley set a best time of 1m 19.156s that put him in 17th place, whilst team-mate Ma Qinghua was the slowest – setting a time over four seconds slower than Da Costa.
Defending champion Jean-Eric Vergne sat out the session reportedly due to illness. As a result, the team’s test and development driver James Rossiter filed in for Vergne for the session. It’s unclear as to whether the Frenchman will return for the second practice session.