Vergne stays on top at Formula E test

Jean-Eric Vergne continued to set the pace on the penultimate day of FIA Formula E pre-season testing at Donington Park.

The Techeetah driver saved his best until the final minutes of the session when he posted a 1:29.196s to lower his previous lap record at the Leicestershire circuit.

Vergne’s impressive pace came after he suffered a crash in the morning run which brought out the red flags.

Reigning champion Sebastien Buemi ended the day 0.174s shy of the Vergne Techeetah, which utilises the same power train as the Renault e.dams racer.

The Swiss driver had topped the times at the end of the morning session, surpassing Vergne’s old lap record.

A late effort from Abt Audi Sport driver Lucas di Grassi saw the Brazilian emerge third fastest just 0.4s adrift of Vergne.

The Abt and Renault squads completed the top-five with Nico Prost fourth and Daniel Abt in fifth.

Nick Heidfeld (Mahindra), Jose Maria Lopez (DS Virgin Racing), Sam Bird (DS Virgin Racing), Oliver Turvey (NEXTEV) and Loic Duval (Faraday Future Dragon Racing) rounded out the top 10.

New Zealander Mitch Evans was the fastest of the Jaguar drivers in 14th position, albeit 1.4s slower than Vergne.

The final pre-season test concludes today ahead of the season opener at Hong Kong from October 9.

Result: FIA Formula E Final Pre-Season Test Day Two