Nick Cassidy has won his first Formula E race this morning at the New York City E-Prix, despite crashing out with seven minutes left on the clock. The kiwi started the first of two races on pole and remained the front-runner for the majority of proceedings.
A sudden downpour with 10 minutes remaining in the session created a dramatic conclusion to the event which saw Cassidy and several other trailing cars make hard contact with the wall.
Surface water had covered the Brooklyn Street Circuit, making for treacherous conditions as the field navigated the final laps of the race. The rain proved too much, however, with Cassidy aquaplaning off and into the wall at turn six, followed by several of the trailing cars who skidded through the corner to join the kiwi.
The race director brought out a red flag, with the conditions deemed to be too unsafe for the event to resume. If a red flag concludes an event in Formula E, the results will follow the race order of the last fully completed lap before the incident.
This meant Cassidy was declared the race winner as he had been the first across the line on the previous lap.
The win is the first for Cassidy in his second full-time season in the championship, with Lucas di Grassi second and teammate Robin Frijns third.
Fellow kiwi driver Mitch Evans avoided the drama but missed out on points after finishing in 11th.
The second race will take place at 5am New Zealand time tomorrow morning, where Cassidy will hope to continue on from his winning effort, yet hopefully in a cleaner fashion.
