Formula E: Sam Bird takes pole for 2019 Marrakesh ePrix

AD DIRIYAH, SAUDI ARABIA - DECEMBER 15: Sam Bird (GBR), Envision Virgin Racing, Audi e-tron FE05 during the Formula E Championship Ad Diriyah E-Prix on December 15, 2018 in Ad Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Malcom Griffiths Handout/Getty Images)
AD DIRIYAH, SAUDI ARABIA - DECEMBER 15: Sam Bird (GBR), Envision Virgin Racing, Audi e-tron FE05 during the Formula E Championship Ad Diriyah E-Prix on December 15, 2018 in Ad Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Malcom Griffiths Handout/Getty Images)

Sam Bird took the pole position, his first of the 2018-2019 Formula E season, for the second race of the season, the Marrakesh ePrix.

Envision Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird took the pole position for the Marrakesh ePrix, the second race of the 2018-2019 Formula E season, in his #2 Spark-Audi. This pole position is his first pole position of the season. He is set to start the race on the front row alongside DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne, who qualified in second place in his #25 Spark-DS Automobiles.

Bird took the pole position for this race by recording a top lap time of 77.489 seconds (85.019 miles per hour) around the 14-turn, 1.83-mile (2.945-kilometer) Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan temporary street circuit in Marrakesh, Morocco in the Super Pole qualifying session.

Bird’s fastest lap time of the Super Pole qualifying session was just 0.046 seconds fastest than that of Vergne, as Vergne’s fastest lap time of the session was 77.535 seconds (84.968 miles per hour).

More from Formula E

The other four drivers who made it into the Super Pole qualifying session were BMW i Andretti Motorsport teammates Antonio Felix da Costa and Alexander Sims, Nissan e.dams’ Sebastien Buemi and Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s Mitch Evans.

Da Costa, who won the opening race of the season, the Ad Diriyah ePrix, and Sims are set to start the race in third and fifth place in their #28 Spark-BMW and #27 Spark-BMW, respectively, while Buemi is set to start the race in fourth in his #23 Spark-Nissan and Evans is set to start the race in sixth in his #20 Spark-Jaguar.

Mahindra Racing’s Pascal Wehrlein, who did not compete in the season opener last month and was instead replaced by Felix Rosenqvist, was the highest qualifying driver who failed to qualify for the Super Pole qualifying session. He is set to start the race in seventh place in his #94 Spark-Mahindra.

Virgin Racing’s Robin Frijns, Jaguar Racing’s Nelson Piquet Jr. and Mahindra Racing’s Jerome d’Ambrosio rounded out the top 10 in the qualifying session by qualifying in eight, ninth and 10th place in their #4 Spark-Audi, #3 Spark-Jaguar and #64 Spark-Mahindra, respectively.

Here are the full qualifying results for the 2019 Marrakesh ePrix.

Qualifying Results
1st – Sam Bird
2nd – Jean-Eric Vergne
3rd – Antonio Felix da Costa
4th – Sebastien Buemi
5th – Alexander Sims
6th – Mitch Evans
7th – Pascal Wehrlein
8th – Robin Frijns
9th – Nelson Piquet Jr.
10th – Jerome d’Ambrosio
11th – Lucas di Grassi
12th – Oliver Rowland
13th – Jose Maria Lopez
14th – Oliver Turvey
15th – Felipe Massa
16th – Daniel Abt
17th – Edoardo Mortara
18th – Tom Dillmann
19th – Gary Paffett
20th – Andre Lotterer
21st – Maximilian Gunther
22nd – Stoffel Vandoorne

Be sure to tune in to the live broadcast of the second race of the 13-race 2018-2019 Formula E season, the Marrakesh ePrix, today at 9:30 a.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.