Cassidy and Da Costa on top in the Big Apple

The MICHELIN Pilot Sport EV helped Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing) and Antonio Felix da Costa (DS Techeetah) to claim the season’s two New York City E-Prix in mixed weather.  

Michelin’s bespoke tire for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship’s electric single-seaters had to cope with a grueling cocktail of dust, heat and rain in Brooklyn, New York City, USA, home of the competition’s 11th and 12th rounds.

Wet weather troubled early free practice but made way for dry, dusty conditions for Race 1 which saw the MICHELIN Pilot Sport EV provide the drivers with the grip and consistency they needed to push hard around the notoriously bumpy circuit.

Ten minutes from the end, however, a sudden heavy shower caught out the afternoon’s front-runners – Cassidy, Lucas di Grassi (RoKit Venturi Racing) and Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes EQ FE Team) – under braking for Turn 6, in addition to causing a number of tangles in the chasing pack. The action was immediately halted, handing Cassidy his maiden Formula E victory, since the classification was based on the order before the red flag was shown.

The next day, the Envision Racing star claimed his second pole position of the weekend but was handed a 30-place grid penalty which allowed da Costa to head the field away for sunny Race 2. The Portuguese driver successfully warded off pressure from Vandoorne and Mitch Evans (Jaguar Racing) to earn DS Techeetah’s first win of the campaign.

Sunday’s e-prix produced plenty of exciting racing and passing attempts, as well as a late collision involving Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah) and di Grassi.

Vandoorne and his team Mercedes EQ FE Team top the provisional leaderboard ahead of the next two races in London, United Kingdom, on July 30-31.

New York City E-Prix 1 – Final positions:

1. Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing), 29 laps

2. Lucas di Grassi (RoKit Venturi Racing), +1.123s

3. Robin Frijns (Envision Racing), +1.671s

4. Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes EQ FE Team),+3.693s

5. Sébastien Buemi (Nissan e.dams), +5.570s

Etc.

New York City E-Prix 2 – Final positions:

1. Antonio Felix da Costa (DS Techeetah), 39 laps

2. Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes EQ FE Team), +0.929s

3. Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing), +3.524s

4. Alexander Sims (Mahindra Racing), +3.631s

5. Sam Bird (Jaguar TCS Racing), +4.412s

Etc.