Nick Cassidy claims he “was one lap away from profitable the championship this weekend” after spinning out from the lead within the Portland E-Prix on the penultimate lap.
The Jaguar driver entered the American double-header on the Portland Worldwide Raceway 25 factors forward of nearest challenger Pascal Wehrlein with solely 4 races remaining this season.
Having began tenth for Saturday’s opening race, Cassidy sat exterior the factors within the early operating to preserve vitality earlier than hitting the entrance within the latter levels of the 27-lap race.
However heading into the quick and sweeping left/proper sequence of Turns 10/11 on the penultimate lap, Cassidy ran barely deep which despatched him offline and right into a spin on the exit of the nook.
In a position to rejoin, he was finally categorized nineteenth after admitting it to be an error of his personal making.
“Typically you’ve bought to take quite a lot of duty and put your hand up and say you’ve screwed up,” Cassidy instructed Autosport.
“Right this moment that’s the day for me. I assume a number of chain of occasions led to that however in the end that’s the case.”
Mitch Evans, Jaguar Racing , Jaguar I-TYPE 6, Antonio Felix da Costa, Porsche, Porsche 99X Electrical Gen3, Robin Frijns, Envision Racing, Jaguar I-TYPE 6
Picture by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images
Cassidy’s Jaguar team-mate Mitch Evans had moved into second on-the-road on lap 24, however the Kiwi had been handed a five-second penalty for a collision with Jake Hughes earlier within the race.
It meant that Evans was by no means a risk for Cassidy’s outright victory, however each have been knowledgeable over the radio that they have been free to race for place, resulting in Cassidy defending on a number of events.
Conscious of his team-mate’s penalty, Cassidy admits that dropping behind would have been too dangerous with eventual race winner Antonio Felix da Costa instantly behind.
“I feel the precise phrases have been ‘you’re racing Mitch’,” mentioned Cassidy in regards to the crew’s radio message. “I feel he had barely much less vitality than me, so I knew that if he was main with the slipstream right here that I’d be underneath quite a lot of stress from da Costa [in third].
“I used to be assuming along with his vitality goal he [Evans] didn’t have sufficient vitality [to lead].”
Victory for Cassidy would more than likely have prolonged his factors benefit to Wehrlein to as many as 50 factors, because the German was solely in a position to salvage tenth after the entrance wing endplate from Hughes’ automotive grew to become lodged underneath his Porsche, impacting its efficiency.
“We will’t shrink back from the actual fact we’d have in all probability received the championship right this moment,” mentioned Cassidy, whose championship lead now sits at 24 factors.
“I’d have had a 50-point lead. I do know that I used to be one lap away from profitable the championship this weekend.
“I feel we shouldn’t ignore that however I’m additionally conscious that I’m nonetheless in an excellent place and I can’t let this second outline the following three races.”