Advances Through The Pack to Win 2nd Race in 2023 for Nick Cassidy for the SABIC Berlin E-PRIX Double-Header

Riyadh – Asdaf News:

After a thrilling wheel-to-wheel race, Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy advanced from eighth place to the top step of the podium to secure the victory in the 2023 SABIC Berlin E-Prix Round 8.

The exceptional Berlin Tempelhof Circuit delivered a second highly tactical race that was packed with overtakes (172 in total, for a weekend total of 362) and featured the race victor displaying yet another tactical masterclass. Cassidy, who started the race in seventh place, drove brilliantly to maintain his position while maintaining the fine balance between energy, ultimate pace, and racecraft in Formula E.

In order to win the race, Cassidy had to avoid the close attention of every competitor, including all of his closest championship opponents. Energy conservation was essential at the slipstream-heavy course.

At the finish line, Cassidy was followed by Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti), who was only four points behind Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team), who is now leading the championship. After whining about the slow one-lap pace during qualifying, Wehrlein started the race in sixth place, which was a better position than in recent races. Nevertheless, by the finish line, he had dropped to seventh place.

Although he also briefly led the race, Jean-Éric Vergne (DS PENSKE) acknowledged he lacked the speed to compete with the Jaguar-powered Envision that finally won. With an eye on the long game as the season approaches its midpoint, the DS PENSKE driver will be happy to have scored strongly with third.

Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing), who won Round 7, moved up one position from the starting line to place fourth, capping off a fantastic weekend for the Kiwi and Jaguar TCS Racing. For the first time in Formula E history, the Jaguar powertrains have driven to win in three straight races, albeit in the hands of customers Envision Racing and Cassidy. This is despite colleague Sam Bird making contact and being knocked out of contention in this duel.

A day after earning the team’s maiden podium finish in Round 7, Maximilian Günther of Maserati MSG Racing may have had the best drive, moving up 15 positions from 21st to sixth. The ABT CUPRA Formula E Team’s pole-sitter Robin Frijns struggled to keep up and finished in 17th place. Teammate and fellow front-row starter Nico Müller performed better, finishing ninth on home soil and earning the team’s first points of the GEN3 era.

Wehrlein was now in first place, ahead of Vergne by just four points, and Cassidy. With the Jaguar-powered Envision Racing team now only 15 points behind TAG Heuer Porsche in second place, TAG Heuer Porsche’s lead in the Teams’ table is also continuing to shrink.

I knew I was in the fight, said Nick Cassidy, driver of the No. 37 Envision Racing car. I have competed in the previous five races. We missed out on a fantastic opportunity yesterday, and I accept full responsibility for that. But we succeeded today. Well, many thanks to my guys. I’ve had almost weekly opportunities to win, which is a driver’s dream. “I’ve had some really wonderful luck, and I’m sure some terrible luck and awful weekends are heading our way,” the speaker said. “But until then, I’m enjoying the ride; it’s been amazing.”

Jake Dennis, No. 27, Avalanche Andretti said: “To not see a chequered flag since Saudi is mind-blowing. We’re still fourth in the Championship. Obviously more energy than Nick but the targets were so high at the end, and it was too much of a risk and honestly, I was just happy with the 18 points and just bringing it home.

“The boys deserve so much today. After all the hard work we’ve put in the last few events and always come short with a DNF or a crash, so they deserve the champagne more than I do. I’m super happy right now. I didn’t know if the car was going to make it to the end after the contact at turns 4 halfway through. But nevertheless, saw the chequered flag, 18 points and a beer.

“(On temptation to go for the win) Not when Nick started to pick up the pace with eight laps to go – it was just too high risk and JEV was looking pretty punchy at turn 6 so I had to manage that. I was pretty content in second place and scoring some points to be honest.”

Jean-Éric Vergne, No. 25, DS PENSKE said: “It was really chaotic. I’m very glad the race is over. I’ve never really experienced this kind of racing where no one really wants to be leading at the beginning and creating a lot of chaos at the back. I was just trying to manage to stay in the top 4 or 5, every time I was 6th I was pushing to come back because otherwise you’re glued to the back and then you can’t come back. So it’s a bit of a strategy game, but it’s mental, it was a very difficult race so I’m very happy to finish on the podium in third. It could have been very easy to do otherwise today, so I’m going to take those points gladly and move on.

“The Championship isn’t something I’m looking at the moment – there are still so many races remaining. We have a lot of work to do as a team. I’m really glad with the work we’ve done this weekend. We certainly don’t have the pace or the performance of the Jaguar so we need to push really hard to catch up and aim for some more victories.”