Bird wins second Saudi FE race, Lynn taken to hospital after race-ending crash

New Jaguar Formula E driver Sam Bird beat former Virgin teammate Robin Frijns to victory after a thrilling battle in the second Diriyah E-Prix night race that ended under a red-flag.

Bird jumped a slow-starting Sergio Sette Camara to move into second place when the lights went out and and immediately put the pressure on polesitter Frijns, with the pair swapping positions as they diced it out for the lead throughout the race 29-lap race.

The Briton eventually made what turned out to be the race-winning move on Lap 23 as he blasted past Frijns along the main straight to snatch first place.

A multi-car accident resulted in a Full Course Yellow neutralising the race on Lap 26 before it ended prematurely after being red-flagged due to an incident that was not broadcast involving Alex Lynn.

While the circumstances of Lynn’s crash are not clear, the Mahindra driver’s car ended up coming to rest upside down on its roll hoop by the Turn 1 barriers.

Mahindra has since confirmed that Lynn is “conscious, talking and on his way to hospital for checks”.

Behind the battle for the lead, two-time FE champion Jean-Eric Vergne completed the podium ahead of DS Techeetah teammate and reigning champion Antonio Felix da Costa after the duo clashed while fighting for position.

Nick Cassidy took fifth place in the second Virgin car, with Sergio Sette Camara heading Dragon-Penske teammate Nico Muller home in what marked a strong result for the American squad.

After scoring his first point in two years in Friday’s opening night race, Oliver Turvey once again finished inside the top 10 as he sealed a P8 finish for NIO, ahead of Nissan’s Oliver Rowland and Rene Rast, who completed the points-paying positions for Audi.

Mercedes’ Nyck de Vries leads the 2021 Formula E championship by four points from Bird heading into the next round of the season, which takes place in Rome on 10 April.

FULL DIRIYAH E-PRIX RACE 2 RESULTS.