BIRD PICKS UP FIRST POINTS FOR DS VIRGIN RACING IN BEIJING

October 26, 2015 by DS Automobiles

DS Virgin Racing's Sam Bird picked up his first points of the season in Beijing as Renault's Sébastien Buemi claimed victory in the Chinese capital.

The British driver crossed the line in seventh place to claim six points, as team-mate Jean-Éric Vergne finished outside the points in 12th.

Bird, who topped the FanBoost leaderboard to claim an extra 100kJ of energy in the second half of the race, started well from ninth position and quickly made his way through the pack to sixth, before suffering a setback which saw him slip back down to 11th. The 28-year old reacted well though with a number of eye-catching overtaking manoeuvres as he climbed back up the standings to ensure the team did not leave China empty-handed.

Speaking after the race, Bird said: 'It was a frustrating race but of course it's good to get our first points on the board. There were signs of encouragement but definitely plenty for us to work on too ahead of Malaysia.'

Vergne, who earlier set the second fastest lap during qualifying, also suffered a frustrating race in his first outing for DS Virgin Racing.

The Frenchman, who was encouraged by the pace that the car showed throughout the weekend, said:

'We showed some really good pace in qualifying but it was a really difficult race for me personally. Overall, it's been a really fun Formula E experience here in Beijing and now we just have to make sure we get it right and go again in two weeks' time.'

The team now heads to Putrajaya for the Malaysian ePrix on 07 November – a race which holds fond memories for the team following Sam Bird's dominant victory last season.

For more information on the DS Virgin Racing Formula E Team, please visit the website: http://www.ds-virginracing.com.

Photo credit: DS Automobiles
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