Kiwis set for electric finale
Nick Cassidy arrived at the Portland round of the Formula E series with the title in sight. In fact, he was “one race win” away but left the US disappointed and is now focusing on the final round in London, starting July 20.
The Jaguar TCS Racing driver lost the lead on the penultimate lap of race one in Portland with a rare unforced error.
After a brilliant climb up the grid from his 10th place starting position, Cassidy, pictured, looked in control during the final moments of the first race.
He had his team-mate Mitch Evans behind him, with the instruction that the two could race, but Evans had been hit with a five-second time penalty for an earlier track-limits offence. The win seemed almost a done deal, despite Antonio Felix da Costa nipping at their heels in third.
However, in a rare unforced error from the seven-time race winner, Cassidy missed the apex on the corner and found himself in the grass runoff. It was not the first time a driver had done so over the weekend, but the first time a spin had lost a driver the race lead.
Cassidy was devastated. “I don't know how I am feeling yet. There was a chain of events involved.”
He would eventfully finish in 19th, but retains the championship lead. Rival Pascal Wehrlein and his TAG Heuer Porsche suffered damage and could only finish 10th.
“I hope I am the king of the comeback. We still have a lead in the championship. I think I executed 25 perfect laps and I was really happy with my race and then one huge mistake.
“I have got to turn a page and luckily the second race is one lap shorter so that might help me,” he jested.
The next day, there was further disappointment. Antonio Felix da Costa (Porsche) secured a second consecutive win in front of the Portland fans and a third in a row after managing the race to perfection amid a fast, frenetic encounter.
Cassidy failed to score points for a second consecutive race, while Evans and Wehrlein are now tied on points heading into the London finale.
There were big moments for several drivers including Wehrlein, who lost his front wing in dramatic fashion in the early stages of the race. He continued on to finish fourth and keep his championship hopes alive.
Cassidy’s nightmare Portland weekend did not get any better in race two on the Sunday. Midrace, the Kiwi got caught in contact as the pack squeezed through turn one with a quartet of reigning champion Dennis, Nyck de Vries, Nissan’s rookie stand-in Caio Collet and Cassidy himself forced into the pits for repairs.
The Jaguar TCS Racing driver still tops the standings but the sin on the Saturday, followed by that car-to-car contact in round 14, saw him leave the penultimate round pointless.
That has enabled Evans to draw to within 12 points of his team-mate, level with Wehrlein in the drivers’ table. Portland winner Da Costa is just 33 points back, with 58 still to play for at the double-header finale in London.
On being hit with a five-second penalty after a collision with NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes, Evans was disappointed but philosophical.
“It was clearly a disappointing result in the grand scale of it, but we were on for a double podium in an immensely tense race where a lot of strategy came into place.” The penalty dropped him from first to eighth by the race’s end.
Jaguar TCS Racing’s difficult race weekend has opened the door for TAG Heuer Porsche, who are 33 points back in the teams’ running. Porsche leads Jaguar, 407 to 388 points, in the manufacturers’ trophy.
