Bird tops opening session in Buenos Aires

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Formula E kicked off in 2016 with the opening practice session of the Buenos Aires ePrix, where Sam Bird topped the timesheets ahead of Daniel Abt.

There was some early driver news as it transpired that Jean-Eric Vergne would be unable to take part in the day due to food poisoning, with reigning WTCC champion Jose Maria Lopez being touted as a potential replacement at the discretion of the stewards.

The sessions was red flagged early on as Simona de Silvestro made an unusual error by clipping the inside wall of the pit exit, ripping off the left rear corner of her Andretti car.

As the session resumed with 25 minutes left to run, the remaining drivers wasted no time in returning to the circuit to rack up the laps, with Sebastien Buemi setting an early pace.

A brief yellow flag was thrown as series returnee Salvador Duran went straight on at turn five, followed by Bruno Senna making the same mistake. Both were able to continue without any damage to the car.

The dusty track meant that many drivers were going off the circuit, with de Silvestro, Nick Heidfeld, 2015 winner Antonio Felix da Costa and debutant Mike Conway all taking to the run-off areas.

With ten minutes remaining a stray dog wandered onto the circuit, entering the pits in front of the Venturi of Conway, but was collected before any immediate danger presented itself.

Shortly after the canine intervention, Lucas di Grassi pulled over to the side of the track with an unspecified problem, but was able to reset the car and return to the pits.

With three minutes remaining in the session, Robin Frijns pulled off after turn two with an apparent electrical error, with the Dutchman unable to continue.

After a disappointing opening to the season, NEXTEV had a better session with reigning champion Nelson Piquet Jr and Oliver Turvey reaching third and fourth respectively in the timing sheets.

As the chequered flag fell, Bird topped the times with a 1:09.913s, with only Abt, Piquet Jr, Turvey and Buemi within a second of the Englishman. With only a handful of drivers setting full power laps, the order could change in the second practice session.

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Image courtesy of FIA Formula E Media

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