Kiwis Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans continue to chase their place in the history books when Formula E returns for its penultimate race weekend of the season in Portland.
Cassidy enters the Portland E-Prix double-header at the top of the World Championship standings, holding a healthy 25-point advantage over Pascal Wehrlein. Evans is third, a further 10 points behind.
The all-Kiwi Jaguar TCS Racing lineup has also pulled to a healthy 73-point advantage in the Team’s Championship, with four races remaining over two rounds this season.
If successful, it would be Jaguar’s TCS Racing’s first team’s title success since they entered the sport in 2016/17. Customer team Envision Racing were the champions in 2022/23.
Cassidy won the inaugural Portland E-Prix in 2023, crossing the line ahead of Jake Dennis in a fast race featuring over 400 overtakes and numerous lead changes.
In the last round, he finished third in the Shanghai E-Prix opener and fourth in the finale.
“Shanghai was a positive race weekend and overall, I achieved strong results, including my eighth podium of the season,” said Cassidy.
“It will be great to be back in Portland after topping the podium last season. I have hopes of achieving the same result this year, and I’m confident we can hold my position in the standings and work with the team to extend our lead.”
A victory for Evans in Portland would see him equal the all-time Formula E win record of 13, tied with Sebastien Buemi and Lucas di Grassi.
His last win came just last round in the opening race in Shanghai and was followed by fifth place in the finale.
“It was another amazing weekend in Shanghai,” he said. “Getting the win and seeing Nick on the podium on Saturday before a strong finish on Sunday sets us in good stead for the last four races.
“I’m looking forward to returning to Portland for the second year and challenging myself to increase our team lead. The team and I are also working hard to continue the upward trajectory in the Drivers’ standings.”
The successes have contributed to Jaguar TCS Racing’s all-Kiwi lineup’s 73-point lead in the Team’s Championship.
“Shanghai was great for the team with a R11 win for Mitch Evans and a podium for Nick Cassidy, his eighth in the season to date,” said Team Principal James Barclay.
“A double points-scoring result also in R12 meant that it was a successful weekend on our return to China which enabled us to extend our Teams’ World Championship lead to 73 points.
“Nick also extended his lead in the Drivers’ World Championship with Mitch moving into third position. This strong performance increases our current team points haul to 299, more than our total for the entirety of last season – an amazing achievement.
“We are looking forward to returning to Portland for its second year on the Formula E calendar – it’s an exciting and challenging track – as the team focuses on maximising performance in this final phase of the season with just four rounds remaining.”
Qualifying for the opening race in Portland begins at 4.30 am on Sunday, with the race following at 8.00 am.
Race 2 qualifying starts at 4.30 am on Monday, ahead of the race at 8.00 am that morning.
The Formula E season concludes with a London E-Prix double-header on July 20-21.
All sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sport.
Header Image: Andrew Ferraro / LAT Image (Supplied Jaguar TCS Racing)
Love velocity covering all types of Motorsport which kiwi drivers are involved in world wide.
There are NZ ladies doing well in their chosen motorsports not mentioned however.