Bird starts from pole after Da Costa disqualification

Sam Bird for DS Virgin Racing will start in pole position for the Long Beach ePrix, after Antonio Felix da Costa was stripped of his pole position.

The Portuguese driver set the fastest time during the Super Pole shootout, and got both himself and Team Aguri their first pole position on Formula E. He was disqualified afterwards as his rear left tyre was just 0.05 below what is allowed.

Twitter: Rear Left Tyre pressure was 0.05 below limit allowed, this means Disqualified, will start last. Im having alot of luck this year… (@afelixdacosta)

This gives the pole position to Bird, who was also on pole position for the Buenos Aires ePrix earlier in the year. The Brit was the second fastest in qualifying, but will grab the three points on offer from the session which could prove vital in the championship battle.

Da Costa will start from the back of the grid, but the race is still going to be a tense affair, with championship leader Sebastien Buemi needing to make moves to get close to Bird and Lucas di Grassi.