New Zealander Mitch Evans has secured pole position for tonight’s Hyderabad E-Prix with shootout victory over Jean-Eric Vergne by just 0.021 seconds.
It’s an impressive start to the weekend for the Jaguar TCS Racing driver who had to beat the likes of Maximilian Guenther and Sebastien Buemi to even make the final.
Things were made much easier for the Kiwi with track limits coming into play, a number of key contenders, including teammate Sam Bird who was fastest in practice, disqualified for running wide.
Vergne’s run to the final was freakish, the Frenchman initially losing out to Bird before his post-shootout invalidation. Both drivers in the fourth quarter final were also disqualified meaning Vergne progressed from the quarters straight to the final.
Nick Cassidy will start the race in ninth, missing qualification for the duels by just .001 seconds to Swiss driver Edoardo Mortara, leaving the Kiwi still in search of his first shootout appearance of the season.
Cassidy has already proved he’s a contender on race pace this year, however, meaning he’ll be one to watch come race time tomorrow.
Both race winners this season also failed to make the Duels, Jake Dennis forced to start 11th with the two-time winner in Saudi Arabia, Pascal Wehrlein, starting behind in 12th.
This gives the field an opportunity to bridge the gap in the standings to the duo who already have 31 points over third-placed Buemi.
For Evans and Cassidy it’s also a great opportunity to catch up, the duo ninth and tenth respectively heading into the race.
The Hyderabad E-Prix begins at 10.30pm and will be shown live on Sky Sport 5 from 10.
Header Image: Formula E
