Sam Bird maintains winning record with first victory at Jaguar Racing in Diriyah

Tuesday, 2 March 2021 02:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sam Bird became the only driver in Formula E history to have won a race in every season after claiming victory in Round 2 of the season opening double-header in Diryah, following a thrilling battle with Robin Frijns.

Sam Bird takes victory at his debut event with Jaguar Racing in Round 2 of the season-opening Diriyah double-header, beating Robin Frijns (Envision Virgin Racing) with DS TECHEETAH’s António Félix da Costa in third.

Brit Bird continues record of being the only driver to have won an E-Prix in every season of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, racking up his 10th E-Prix victory in the process.

Frijns, who started on Julius Baer Pole Position, engaged in a race-long battle under the floodlights with his former team-mate, finally crossing the line in second.

DS TECHEETAH duo of Jean-Éric Vergne and António Félix da Costa raced side-by-side before a Full Course Yellow came out neutralising the race. JEV initially stood on the podium in third, but a time penalty caused by not using his second Attack Mode activation ended with his team-mate and reigning champion taking his place.

All-electric racing series heads next to the Italian capital of Rome for Round 3 of the 2020/21 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship on April 10.

After the race Sam Bird said: “I was a bit emotional in the car. It was a big move and a big step for me moving away from what was my family in Envision Virgin Racing to join Jaguar Racing, but they’ve welcomed me with open arms and I’m pleased to deliver this win. The whole point of the opening two rounds was to come here and score decent points and if you’d said I’d come away with 25 points, I’d have taken that. Robin was so respectful and a pleasure to race against which is exactly what you’d expect of his calibre. It was really, really good.”