New York E-Prix: Da Costa leads Evans, Cassidy in practice
Reigning Formula E champion Antonio Felix da Costa posted a new lap record to lead the final practice session ahead of the second New York City E-Prix.
The DS Techeetah driver struggled with car balance for much of the opening race on Saturday and finished only 12th.
But set-up revisions allowed the Portuguese to bolt to the top of the leaderboard with two of the 45 minutes left on the clock.
He set a 1m08.472s effort, the better part of 0.9s quicker than the best efforts from the previous day.
That late move on the full 250kW power mode guided him 0.049s clear of Jaguar Racing’s Mitch Evans, the Kiwi having been da Costa’s closest title rival for much of the last season.
He was followed over the timing line by Saturday polesitter and long-time race leader Nick Cassidy, the Envision Virgin Racing rookie only another 0.038s in arrears.
While the entire 24-car field would be covered by just a whisker over 1s, it was Audi driver Rene Rast who set the pace in the cool early morning session.
An initial push lap of 1m10.596s left him some 0.7s clear before he was joined by his teammate and 2016-17 champion Lucas di Grassi, who finished on the podium in race one.
The session ran largely without incident or drama, however Saturday victory Maximilian Gunther was forced to miss five minutes of running due to car checks after a suspected touch with the wall.
Alexander Sims also limited his number of laps after the Mahindra Racing driver eclipsed Rast at the front of the pack.
After only 12 minutes, the Briton set a 1m09.507s effort, which remained his best time and he completed only 10 laps - the fewest of all drivers.
He was however displaced by da Costa after he deployed the 35kW attack mode gain.
Teammate Jean-Eric Vergne became the first driver of the weekend, and in the history of the revised Brooklyn Street Circuit, to dip under the 1m09s barrier.
He took charge with a 1m08.988s before the final switch to full 250kW power shuffled him down the order.
In a strong showing for the Audi-powered Envision team, joint points leader Robin Frijns followed stablemate Cassidy home in fourth with works driver Rast clocking fifth.
Venturi's Norman Nato was the best of the Mercedes-powered drivers in sixth, beating Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein and Alex Lynn for Mahindra Racing.
Di Grassi arrived home ninth as Edoardo Mortara, tied on 72 points with Frijns, completed the top 10.
Behind former teammate Andre Lotterer, Vergne fell as far as 12th but kept Guenther, who passed the French racer for victory on Saturday, at bay by 0.162s.
The factory Mercedes squad did well to hide its pace, Stoffel Vandoorne setting the 15th fastest time as Nyck de Vries was only 20th.
Practice results:
Related video
De Vries hits out at "artificial" Formula E after another no-score
New York E-Prix: Bird leads all-Jaguar front row in qualifying
Gasly handed two grid penalties for impeding in Barcelona F1 qualifying
Gasly handed two grid penalties for impeding in Barcelona F1 qualifying Gasly handed two grid penalties for impeding in Barcelona F1 qualifying
Hulkenberg says P3 in Spanish GP practice showed "genuine" F1 pace
Hulkenberg says P3 in Spanish GP practice showed "genuine" F1 pace Hulkenberg says P3 in Spanish GP practice showed "genuine" F1 pace
Would Hamilton really be a worthwhile F1 investment for Ferrari?
Would Hamilton really be a worthwhile F1 investment for Ferrari? Would Hamilton really be a worthwhile F1 investment for Ferrari?
Dixon: IndyCar Detroit GP winner could be “last man standing”
Dixon: IndyCar Detroit GP winner could be “last man standing” Dixon: IndyCar Detroit GP winner could be “last man standing”
Enfinger takes Gateway Truck win after leaders wreck
Enfinger takes Gateway Truck win after leaders wreck Enfinger takes Gateway Truck win after leaders wreck
Ogier gives bizarre reason for WRC Sardinia crash
Ogier gives bizarre reason for WRC Sardinia crash Ogier gives bizarre reason for WRC Sardinia crash
McLaughlin: IndyCar drivers criticizing new Detroit track “need to relax”
McLaughlin: IndyCar drivers criticizing new Detroit track “need to relax” McLaughlin: IndyCar drivers criticizing new Detroit track “need to relax”
How Cassidy earned 'Big Cat' bragging rights in tight Monaco duel
How Cassidy earned 'Big Cat' bragging rights in tight Monaco duel How Cassidy earned 'Big Cat' bragging rights in tight Monaco duel
How Kiwis stormed Berlin to put Porsche under pressure
How Kiwis stormed Berlin to put Porsche under pressure How Kiwis stormed Berlin to put Porsche under pressure
How Evans pounced for Jaguar in Sao Paulo slipstreaming chess match
How Evans pounced for Jaguar in Sao Paulo slipstreaming chess match How Evans pounced for Jaguar in Sao Paulo slipstreaming chess match
How a fumble inadvertently aided da Costa in Formula E's Cape Town classic
How a fumble inadvertently aided da Costa in Formula E's Cape Town classic How a fumble inadvertently aided da Costa in Formula E's Cape Town classic
How Vergne kept his cool to triumph in spicy Indian Formula E encounter
How Vergne kept his cool to triumph in spicy Indian Formula E encounter How Vergne kept his cool to triumph in spicy Indian Formula E encounter
Why Hyderabad E-Prix is only a first step in India's motorsport emergence
Why Hyderabad E-Prix is only a first step in India's motorsport emergence Why Hyderabad E-Prix is only a first step in India's motorsport emergence
The key factors behind Porsche's strong start to Formula E's new era
The key factors behind Porsche's strong start to Formula E's new era The key factors behind Porsche's strong start to Formula E's new era
How Wehrlein's Diriyah double reveals Formula E's form book shake-up
How Wehrlein's Diriyah double reveals Formula E's form book shake-up How Wehrlein's Diriyah double reveals Formula E's form book shake-up
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.