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ABB NEW YORK E-PRIX - ROUND 11
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BIRD GLIDES TO HISTORIC VICTORY IN NEW YORK TO LEAD THE FORMULA E WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

11 July 2021

Jaguar Racing driver, Sam Bird, created history by winning the ABB New York City E‑Prix for the third time in a lights‑to‑flag victory. The Brit is the only driver to have won three times at the same circuit in Formula E history and retakes the lead of the drivers’ world championship.

  • Jaguar Racing driver, Sam Bird, makes history by winning the ABB New York City E‑Prix for the third time in a lights‑to‑flag victory
  • Jaguar Racing locked out the front‑row in qualifying with Sam Bird taking Pole Position and Mitch Evans lining up in second
  • Heartbreak for Evans as he clipped the wall in the final stages of the race and fell from second place to limp home in thirteenth
  • Sam Bird is back at the top of the Drivers’ Standings, while teammate Mitch Evans moves to eighth
  • Jaguar Racing are third in the Teams’ Standings, just five points behind Envision Virgin Racing
  • Jaguar Racing returns to race on home soil for the first time in 17 years, for rounds 12 and 13 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The double‑header takes place in two weeks’ time on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 July 2021

Jaguar Racing driver, Sam Bird, created history by winning the ABB New York City E‑Prix for the third time in a lights‑to‑flag victory. The Brit is the only driver to have won three times at the same circuit in Formula E history and retakes the lead of the drivers’ world championship.

For the first time in the team’s Formula E history, Jaguar Racing locked‑out the front row with Sam Bird on Pole and Mitch Evans in second after both drivers made it into Super Pole on the streets of Brooklyn. After crashing in free practice yesterday, Bird’s mechanics and engineers faced a race against time to rebuild his Jaguar I‑TYPE 5. The Brit rewarded the team with 29 points out of a possible 30 today by also topping qualifying.

A potential double‑podium finish evaporated when Mitch Evans, defending from Envision Virgin Racing’s Nick Cassidy, clipped the wall in the final couple of minutes of the race and was forced to limp the car home in thirteenth.

Sam Bird is back at the top of the Drivers’ Standings, while teammate Mitch Evans is now eighth. Jaguar Racing are third in the Teams’ Standings, just five points behind Envision Virgin Racing with four rounds of the championship remaining.

ABB NEW YORK E-PRIX - ROUND 11
ABB NEW YORK E-PRIX - ROUND 11
ABB NEW YORK E-PRIX - ROUND 11
ABB NEW YORK E-PRIX - ROUND 11
ABB NEW YORK CITY E-PRIX - ROUND 11
ABB NEW YORK CITY E-PRIX - ROUND 11

It has been a fantastic day at the ABB New York E‑Prix. Today we made our own little bit of history by locking out the front row with Sam and Mitch. Both drivers topped their group qualifying sessions and made it into Super Pole before executing fantastic laps. The race itself was a great performance from Sam and the team completing a perfect lights‑to‑flag victory. Mitch was having a great race controlling the gap to Nick Cassidy behind him but unfortunately when he hit the wall it broke the rear suspension taking him out of the points when he was agonisingly close to the finish line. It’s a bitter sweet feeling but Sam is back leading the Drivers’ Championship and we’re now very much in the fight. We are going to use this momentum in London in just two weeks time and cannot wait to be racing on home soil for the first time for Jaguar Racing in Formula E.

James Barclay
Team Director Jaguar Racing

What a day today! That’s 29 points out of a possibly 30 so I couldn’t be happier. I’m so delighted and proud of my team right now. After yesterday, this is everything we needed and it feels so good. Thank you to everyone at Jaguar Racing and I can’t wait for London.

Sam Bird
#10 Jaguar Racing driver
ABB NEW YORK E-PRIX - ROUND 11

I’ve been waiting for a race like this for so long and I messed it up here in New York. I had a lot of front rotation and I couldn’t hang on to it in one particular lap and that’s enough to spoil your day. I’m really, really gutted and this one hurts a lot but I just want to say a huge congratulations to Sam. We’ll now look to London where I hope to score points again.

Mitch Evans
#20 Jaguar Racing driver

Jaguar returns to the United Kingdom to race for the first time in 17 years, for rounds 12 and 13 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The double‑header takes place in two weeks' time on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 July 2021.

Further information

Emily Hogg, Global Brand and Partnerships Officer, Jaguar Racing

Tel: + 44 (0) 7384 532 605

Email: ehogg2@jaguarlandrover.com

 

Adrian Atkinson, Global PR and Communications Manager, Jaguar Racing

Tel: +44 (0) 7979 554005

Email: aatkins5@jaguarlandrover.com

Notes to Editors

ABOUT JAGUAR RACING

Jaguar returned to racing in October 2016, becoming the first premium manufacturer to join the all‑electric ABB FIA Formula E World Championship street racing series. In 2019 the team won the Rome E‑Prix – Jaguar’s first international motorsport victory since 1991.

Formula E is a real‑world test bed for Jaguar with its Race To Innovate mission in the future of electrification.

As an official manufacturer team in Formula E, Jaguar Racing designs its own powertrain, which includes the motor, transmission, inverter and rear suspension.

To control costs the carbon fibre chassis and battery are common components and the same for all twelve teams. This allows the focus to be on developing electric vehicle powertrains which are efficient and lightweight which will improve the performance and range of future Jaguar Land Rover electric vehicles.

The 2020/21 Formula E season is the first as the all‑electric series has been granted full world championship status by the FIA – the sport’s governing body. In September 2020, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship was also certified with a net zero carbon footprint from inception ‑ the first global sport to achieve this. This season will be the third year for the teams to be racing with the futuristic Gen2 racecars.

Teams have two racecars, one per driver, which will be used for the full race distance.

Beyond its all‑electric concept, Formula E is unique in the world of motorsport for its choice of venues. The championship takes place on temporary street circuits in the centre of the world’s major cities including Santiago, Diriyah, Rome, Paris, Monaco, New York and ending in a double‑header race weekend in London.  

Mitch Evans finished season six seventh in the Drivers' Championship and Jaguar Racing finished seventh in the Teams' Standings with a win in Mexico City, a podium in Santiago and one pole position. He is joined for season seven by British driver Sam Bird, who has won a race in every season of Formula E.

In season seven the championship is official recognised as a world championship by the governing body the FIA. It will be known as the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

 

Race to Innovate

Formula E remains a key priority for Jaguar Land Rover. As the only all‑electric world championship, Formula E allows us to test and develop new electric vehicle technologies in a high‑performance environment. It continues to be the test‑bed for our Race to Innovate mission that will see Race to Road and Road to Race learnings that will help shape our electric future – a future that Jaguar is passionate about, and dedicated to for the benefit of our society, the changing landscape of mobility, sustainability and our customers.

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