Story highlights
Sam Bird won opening race in Hong Kong and leads Formula E championship
Round 3 of 14 taking place in Marrakech on Saturday
After a helter-skelter two races in Hong Kong, Formula E returns for round three of the 2017-18 Formula E championship in Marrakech on Saturday.
Britain’s Sam Bird tops the drivers’ standings following two impressive performances (1st and 5th) at the Central Harborfront Circuit.
It’s the first time the DS Virgin Racing driver has led the all-electric race series which in recent seasons has seen Brazil’s Lucas di Grassi and Swiss Sebastien Buemi go head-to-head for the title.
“Who would have expected us to dominate the first race like we did?” Bird told CNN’s World Sport.
“We had a great car at the end of last year and we had a bit of momentum going. We did the preseason test and felt quietly confident that we could do a reasonable job as a team.
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“To get some good numbers on the board takes a bit of pressure off … hopefully we can back up the Hong Kong results with another great one in Marrakech and then Santiago and Punta del Este.”
Bird finished second behind Buemi in Marrakech last season (watch race highlights below) with Felix Rosenqvist taking the final podium place.
A similar result for Bird this weekend would further strengthen his claim to be a genuine title contender in 2018 after finishing fourth overall in the previous two seasons.
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Buemi, the 2016 champion, and last year’s victor di Grassi are playing catch up after both men struggled in Hong Kong.
The Renault edams driver came away with one point from the weekend while di Grassi is yet to get off the mark after finishing out of the points in both races.
