BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Maximilian Guenther pieced together a perfect race during race one of the ABB New York City E-Prix doubleheader Saturday on the Streets of Brooklyn, earning a home country victory for BMW i Andretti Motorsport.
The German started fourth on the grid and picked his way through the pack to take the lead in a daring move around Nick Cassidy and Jean-Eric Vergne going into the hairpin with five minutes left in the race. He made his energy efficiency advantage count, with a percentage point of usable energy in-hand over Jean-Eric Vergne at the checkered flag.
“Definitely the overtake [was the defining moment of the race]. I was managing the race quite well, I had more energy than the two guys in front of me, but it was not so easy to overtake,” Guenther said. “I was fighting with Nick for the win and then on the hairpin I saw this gap and went for it and it worked out for us. It is definitely a good feeling.”
During the final 15 minutes Guenther began making his small energy advantage count. The third-placed BMW driver had held onto a percentage point or two of usable energy compared to the lead pair and chased down Vergne. The top three were separated by less than 1.5 seconds at that point.
Utilizing the Fanboost, Vergne was able to get to Cassidy’s bumper and began to challenge for the lead. He went for the lead going into the hairpin and completed the pass, but he overshot the braking zone and that opened the door for Guenther to slip past both men to take the lead.
“It was a very good race,” Vergne said. “I tried to overtake Cassidy but he turned into me and we both touched and I could not rotate the car. I was very fast and maybe deserved the win today, so it is a shame in a way but I got some important points for the team. We need to keep in mind the bigger goal here which is to the championship, so we will take these points and count them at the end of the season.”
Lucas di Grassi was able to get by Cassidy in the final laps to finish third, with Cassidy fading to fourth. Robin Frijns finished fifth and now finds himself tied with Edoardo Mortara at the top of the Formula E standings.