DS Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird has set his sights on taking down Renault e.dams driver and defending Formula E Champion Sebastien Buemi following his second place finish at the inaugural Marrakesh ePrix.
After putting his DS Virgin into the barrier during practice, it looked like everything was over before it really begun for the Brit. However, in his second car he was able to make it to Super Pole and qualified third on the grid – which became second following Buemi’s grid penalty.
Despite losing second place to Jean-Eric Vergne on lap 15, Bird was able to fight back in his second car after going a lap longer than Vergne and race leader Felix Rosenqvist before pitting. Gaining a position thanks to a drive-through penalty for Vergne, Bird then passed pole sitter Rosenqvist in the latter stages for second place as the Swede found himself having to conserve energy as a consequence of an earlier pit stop.
“It’s great to get points on the board,” said Bird. “There’s still work to do, but getting a podium is a win in itself. Up next is tackling Sébastien Buemi. He’s on his own level right now. Today there were 19 guys battling for 2nd place. But…I have some ideas as to how we can move that up in Buenos Aires.”
