For someone who had never been to New York City in the first 30 years of his life, Virgin DS Racing’s Sam Bird certainly looks like he is in his own element here.
The Formula E racer is on the verge of completing a momentous weekend thanks to a pair of dominant showings on the track.
On Saturday, he became the first winner of the New York City ePrix after holding off Jean-Eric Vergne and Stephane Sarrazin, both of whom belong to Techeetah Racing. The 43-lap race was Round 9 of the 2017 Formula E championship:
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“We had really good speed today,” Bird said. “It’s never fun when [Vergne] is behind you because he’s a super driver and very quick. But I knew that if my brake temperature was in the right window…I knew I’d have the legs to be fine and that’s what happened.”
A few hours of rest seemingly has done nothing to slow him down.
On Sunday morning, Bird took won the Super Pole for Sunday’s 49-lap race, which will be the championship’s 10th round of the season. He will start the race in first with Mahindra’s Felix Rosenqvist next to him in second. That’s not the only place the two are close.
After Saturday’s win, Bird jumped from ninth in the standings to fifth and is now just 14 points back of Rosenqvist, who remains in the No. 3 spot despite a 15th-place finish on Saturday.
Another dominant showing from Bird could catapult him further up the standings and complete a clean sweep in New York City.
