Formula E

Duval tops opening practice on day two at Battersea

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Frenchman Loic Duval was quickest in first practice for Sunday’s FIA Formula E finale at Battersea Park.

The Dragon Racing driver was one of only a handful of drivers to run their qualifying simulation during the session, with his best time of 1m23.690s being comfortably quicker than the rest of the field.

Duval’s session would come to an early conclusion moments later however, with the Frenchman stopping on track with a broken rear suspension, possibly caused by the bumps of the Battersea Park track.

The track surface at turn one had been re-laid overnight to remove the troublesome bump that had seen a temporary barrier placed their for race one on Saturday, and as a result times were significantly quicker.

Championship contender Sebastien Buemi was second quickest for e.dams-Renault, ahead of Briton Sam Bird of Virgin Racing, while the second e.dams machine of Nicolas Prost was fourth.

The only other driver to run a qualifying simulation was Alex Fontana from the Trulli team, with the Swiss driver ending the session fifth fastest, albeit 2.3 seconds adrift of Duval’s pace setting time.

Lucas di Grassi, who still has a mathematical chance of claiming the title during today’s race, was sixth fastest for Audi Sport Abt, ahead of Venturi’s Stephane Sarrazin, while di Grassi’s team-mate Daniel Abt was eighth.

Championship leader by five points Nelson Piquet Jr was ninth for NEXTEV TCR, with Karun Chandhok of Mahindra Racing completing the top ten despite a spin during the session.

There were two red flag periods during the session, the first to recover the stopped NEXTEV TCR car of Oliver Turvey, while the second was to remove Simona de Silvestro’s Andretti Autosport car from the barriers at the Millennium Chicane.

Jean-Eric Vergne did not participate in the session, with the second Andretti Autosport driver being tested by the medical staff at the circuit after being taken ill after race one, where he had finished on the podium. His team are hopeful he will be back in the car for FP2.

Battersea Park Race 2 Free Practice 1 Result

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