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2017 New York City ePrix Race 1 Results – Sam Bird Flies High

By Alex Herbst

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 15: Sir Richard Branson and Sam Bird (GBR), DS Virgin Racing, Spark-Citroen, Virgin DSV-02, spray the champagne on the podium during the New York City ePrix, ninth round of the 2016/17 FIA Formula E Series on July 15, 2017 in Brooklyn, New York City, NY, USA. (Photo by Andrew Ferraro/LAT Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 15: Sir Richard Branson and Sam Bird (GBR), DS Virgin Racing, Spark-Citroen, Virgin DSV-02, spray the champagne on the podium during the New York City ePrix, ninth round of the 2016/17 FIA Formula E Series on July 15, 2017 in Brooklyn, New York City, NY, USA. (Photo by Andrew Ferraro/LAT Images) /
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In a race where the championship leader was absent, Sam Bird took his first Formula E win of 2017 on the streets of Brooklyn, New York.

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Many have tried and few have succeeded in racing in the Empire State. New York City, in fact, has never hosted an auto race inside city limits. That all changed on Saturday, when Formula E raced on the streets of the Red Hook neighborhood in Brooklyn. It was a seminal moment for the young electric championship, and for race winner Sam Bird.

The 43-lap event on the streets of NYC saw the notable absences of two full-time competitors, Sebastien Buemi and Jose Maria Lopez. Both were away from the electric championship racing in the World Endurance Championship in Germany. This meant the race would be wide open without the championship leader and winningest driver in the series competing.

The race itself saw Alex Lynn start on pole in his first start with DS Virgin Racing, with Daniel Abt alongside. But the man on the move was Sam Bird in 4th, who climbed to the top spot by Lap 15 and never looked back. He took his first win of 2017 in Formula E and his fourth in his young career.

It was also a banner day for Techeetah, who earned their first double-podium finish with Jean-Eric Vergne in second and Stephane Sarrazin in third. Meanwhile, in the championship hunt, Lucas di Grassi cut into the 32-point lead of Sebastien Buemi in the title hunt. He hopes to continue that momentum on Sunday in the second race of the NYC doubleheader.

Here are the full race results from Race 1 of the New York City ePrix:

  1. Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing
  2. Jean-Eric Vergne, Techeetah
  3. Stephane Sarrazin, Techeetah
  4. Lucas di Grassi, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport
  5. Loic Duval, Faraday Future Dragon Racing
  6. Oliver Turvey, NextEV NIO
  7. Pierre Gasly, Renault e.dams
  8. Nicolas Prost, Renault e.dams
  9. Robin Frijns, MS Amlin Andretti
  10. Adam Carroll, Panasonic Jaguar Racing
  11. Nelson Piquet Jr., NextEV NIO
  12. Antonio Felix da Costa, MS Amlin Andretti
  13. Tom Dillmann, Venturi Formula E
  14. Daniel Abt, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport
  15. Felix Rosenqvist, Mahindra Racing
  16. Nick Heidfeld, Mahindra Racing
  17. Maro Engel, Venturi Formula E
  18. Alex Lynn, DS Virgin Racing
  19. Jerome D’Ambrosio, Faraday Future Dragon Racing
  20. Mitch Evans, Panasonic Jaguar Racing

Next: Top Five Manufacturers Looking to Join Formula E

Be sure to tune in for the second half of the Formula E doubleheader from the Big Apple on Sunday, July 16. Coverage of the New York City ePrix Race 2 from Brooklyn can be seen on your local FOX station, with pre-race festivities at 12:30 PM eastern, followed by the race at 1:00 PM.

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