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KING OF THE OVERTAKERS FRIJNS BAGS SOLID POINTS IN SOUTH KOREA

13 August 2022

ENVISION RACING’S ROBIN FRIJNS BRINGS IT HOME 8TH AT THE FIRST EVER SEOUL E-PRIX AFTER STARTING 16TH WITH TEAM-MATE NICK CASSIDY CLAIMING 10TH

The Envision Racing duo started the inaugural Seoul E-Prix a little further back down the grid than ideal, however after a red-flagged race on the rain-soaked streets of the South Korean capital, Robin Frijns came home with some decent points.

It was another overtaking masterclass from the Dutch driver who once again proved he is among the best when it comes to mixing speed and racecraft to haul his car from 16th on the grid to eighth at the end of the day.

There was further good news for Envision Racing as Nick Cassidy, despite being involved in a spectacular opening lap shunt, and resuming a red-flagged race from the pitlane, managed to snatch 10th place and one point. 

Only one of the Envision Racing drivers survived their first ever racing lap at the Seoul E-Prix. At the start, Frijns emerged from the spray in 18th, however after a cautious start, Cassidy found himself involved in a multi-car crash at the final corner, involving eight cars and triggering a red flag. 

Luckily for Cassidy, the New Zealander suffered minimal damage to his Audi e-tron FE07 and managed to extract himself from the carnage and dust himself off for the restart. 

Following a lengthy clean-up operation, the second race start of the day took place under blue skies and on a drying circuit. Frijns restarted in 13th, whilst Cassidy was forced to start from the pitlane.

On the greasy circuit, Frijns found himself in 13th behind a four-car squabble for the points-paying positions, sandwiched in between Maximilian Günther and Alexander Sims. The Envision Racing man made light work of Günther, moving up to 12th and started to pile the pressure on Sérgio Sette Câmara as the race approached its final 30 minutes.

Frijns quickly got around Sette Câmara to take 11th before moving into the points with team-mate Cassidy recovering well to settle into 14th place as the race approached the halfway point.

Taking his first Attack Mode phase with 22 minutes of racing remaining, Frijns reeled in ninth place António Félix da Costa, passing the DS Techeetah driver with a slick move under braking for turn one.

Ahead of Frijns, and with 15 minutes left, was Edoardo Mortara, the Swiss driver racing with a five second penalty, and his afternoon was compounded following contact with the wall, providing Frijns with an easy route to eighth.

A late-race safety car due to Sims crashing out in the stadium section meant Frijns had to settle for eighth at the chequered flag. There was a little bit of added drama for team-mate Cassidy who made his way to 10th, crucially, just before the safety car was officially called. An impressive recovery from the first lap incident and underlining the fact that both Envision machines possess good speed in Seoul.

The inaugural Seoul E-Prix finished behind the safety car with Mitch Evans winning from pole position-winner Oliver Rowland, and Lucas di Grassi rounding out the top three, meaning the Driver’s championship battle between Evans and Stoffel Vandoorne will go to Sunday’s final round of the season.

Drivers’ standings (after Rd 15):
1. Stoffel Vandoorne, 195pts
2. Mitch Evans, 174pts
3. Edoardo Mortara , 144pts
4. Jean-Éric Vergne, 136pts
5. Lucas di Grassi, 126pts
6. António Félix da Costa, 118pts
7. Robin Frijns, 114pts
11. Nick Cassidy, 63pts

Teams’ standings (after Rd 15):
1. Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team, 301pts
2. Rokit Venturi Racing, 270pts
3. DS TECHEETAH 254pts
4. Jaguar Racing, 225pts
5. Envision Racing, 177pts
6. Porsche Formula E Team, 134pts