Cassidy and Da Costa, surprise winners

Text: Didier Laurent

The two New York rounds were full of twists and surprises. Whereas we did not necessarily expect Nick Cassidy at the forefront, he demonstrated the good skills of his Envision Racing on the Red Hook circuit, in the Brooklyn district. Pole position and victory on Saturday, again pole position but downgraded on Sunday, the New Zealand driver gave a hard time to the teams accustomed to the top of the time sheet.

The stars of the series, like Edoardo Mortara (Rokit Venturi Racing) or Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah), both at the top of the Drivers’ classification when they arrived in North America, left their mark there. Only five points scored for the first, and zero for the second, while New York is one of the favorite circuits of the French champion, where he was titled twice.

This time it’s Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes EQ Formula E Team) pulling the chestnuts from the fire. The Belgian driver leaves New York at the top of the standings having scored 30 points in two races, ahead of Mortara and Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing). Vergne drops to 4th position, 27 points behind the leader. Four E-Prix from the epilogue of the championship, nothing is yet decided and mathematically many drivers and teams can become world champion.

Saturday E-Prix: Cassidy and the rain

The pilot New Zealander made an impression by taking pole position ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne (EQ Mercedes Formula E Team). “Our car was developed for this kind of circuit, tight, urban, and where the reminders are numerous”, indicates Sylvain Filippi, the Team Principal from the stable. “We are more comfortable there than on very fast tracks, and that’s certainly what can make the difference. This is also true in the race when Cassidy, well installed in the lead of the race, resists the attacks of Lucas Di Grassi, however aggressive at the wheel of his Venturi.

At the rear, the changes of position are numerous and the fortunes vary. The two DS Techeetahs, unlucky in qualifying (rain and bad timing for a fast lap following a touch from Sette Camara), did no better in the race. Jean-Eric Vergne is hit from the back at the start of the E-Prixand sailed in the bottom of the rankings throughout the race, when Antonio Felix Da Costa battled to enter the top 10. Except when activating Attack mode, Cassidy kept the lead.

Most ten minutes from the checkered flag, torrential rain falls on the circuit. The race management then took the decision to go under the Full Course Yellow procedure, but several single-seaters, which nevertheless had tires adapted to this situation, went into aquaplaning on large puddles of water. After reflection, and the observation that the protection barriers of turn number 6 could not be repaired quickly, the race director decides to stop the race, and to validate the classification according to the order of the previous lap. Cassidy is therefore declared the winner, ahead of Di Grassi and Frijns. Vandoorne, Mortara, Buemi, Wehrlein, Dennis, Bird and De Vries complete the top 10.

E-Prix n°2 : « DAC » is back

The weather is slightly cooler but less loaded with humidity on this Sunday morning. The practice session, still at 7:00 local time, but also the qualifications took place without any weather problems. In the first group, Jean-Eric Vergne slightly rubbed a wall and once again lost his chances of reaching the quarter-finals. Mortara, still the championship leader, fails to cover a lap following a technical problem, and ends up at the back of the grid.

The eight qualifiers are then Sette Câmara, Cassidy, De Vries, Sims from group A, and Evans, DaCosta, Vandoorne, and Lotterer. (following the invalidation of Di Grassi’s lap) in group B. Between the sessions and the duels, almost all the cars change tires. The drivers each have only twelve Michelins for the two races, and it is necessary to balance the wear according to the times of the day.

In the qualifying duels, we first find Lotterer against a surprising Sette Câmara (Dragon Penske, 0 points scored this season), who will abdicate against a faster Porsche. The second quarter-final puts Vandoorne and Cassidy on track, and the poleman of the day before managed to dismiss Vandoorne’s Mercedes. Then it was Da Costa’s turn to get rid of that of Nyck de Vries, while the last quarter pitted the Jaguar of Evans against the Mahindra of Sims. It is ultimately the Indian single-seater which will be the fastest. In the semi-finals, Cassidy dominates Lotterer, and once again reaches the final. This time he finds himself facing Da Costa, whose DS Techeetah had not passed the cut yesterday.

Logically, the superiority of Envision Racing on this type of circuit allows Cassidy to take his second pole position of the weekend. But the joy was short-lived: the New Zealand pilot is downgraded a few minutes later (for changing the battery on his single-seater) and the pole position then goes to Antonio Felix Da Costa. An opportunity thathe Portuguese driver will transform into victory at the end of a solid racethis time without bad weather.

At the start, André Lotterer’s “stall” could have had consequences, but the other cars managed to avoid it. The race as a whole will be busier than the day before, and above all will come to an end. Da Costa then scored big points, and returned to the title race. “We had difficult times, but I managed to bounce back,” comments the Portuguese driver. At the moment I’m on a circuit every weekend and that’s what I like, I’m leading the championship in WEC (LMP2 category, editor’s note) and winning here in FE shows that I’m riding a good wave. To win here after leading the whole race, to see the face of the team after this victory is a very pleasant feeling. I really feel like I’m back in business. »

The next two Formula E World Championship E-Prix will take place on July 30 and 31 in London (United Kingdom). They could prove decisive, before the great unknown in Seoul (South Korea) two weeks later.