Nick Cassidy sets fastest time for Envision Virgin Racing in Rookie Test

Nick Cassidy topped the timesheets for Envision Virgin Racing in the Marrakesh rookie test, setting a fastest time of 1:16.467s, which was almost seven-tenths quicker than pole-sitter Antonio Felix da Costa’s best effort in qualifying yesterday.

The fastest lap of the day was set on Cassidy’s final run and concluded a productive morning and afternoon of testing, with the drivers racking up a combined total of 1,965 laps around the Circuit Moulay El Hassan.

Cassidy was over fourth-tenths quicker than his nearest rival Sergio Sette Camara (Geox Dragon) in second, with Filipe Albuquerque a further two-tenths adrift in third. 

Speaking about his experience testing the Envision Virgin Racing car, Cassidy said: “It’s been great to finally step into the car and I’ve learnt a huge amount from the test today in Marrakesh. It’s a lot different to my previous experience but I felt we had a great test program and I hope that I’ve managed to help the team with what they were wanting to achieve. The car had great pace and to come away with the fastest time ever at Marrakesh is an awesome feeling too."

Nicolas Lapierre - who received a late call-up in place of James Rossiter after he took part in practice on Friday for an unwell Jean-Eric Vergne - finished fourth in the sister DS Techeetah.

Kyle Kirkwood led the line for BMW i Andretti Motorsport’s in fifth place, posting a time of 1:17.272s.

Norman Nato set the sixth fastest time for ROKiT Venturi Racing and also took the honours for completing the most laps with a grand total of 96 across both sessions. Nato was only one-thousandth of a second quicker than Jake Hughes in seventh for the Mercedes-Benz works team.

Lucas Auer (BMW i Andretti Motorsport) ended the day in eighth, followed by Kelvin van der Linde (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler), who sat top of the leaderboard after the morning running. Sacha Fenestraz rounded out the top-10 in testing, just over one second shy of the fastest time of the day.

Marrakesh Rookie Test - Results

1. Nick Cassidy, Envision Virgin Racing - 1:16.467s (74 laps)
2. Sergio Sette Camara, Geox Dragon - 1:16.930s (84 laps)
3. Filipi Albuquerque, DS Techeetah - 1:17.092s (79 laps)
4. Nicolas Lapierre, DS Techeetah - 1:17.116s (79 laps)
5. Kyle Kirkwood, BMW i Andretti Motorsport - 1:17.272s (78 laps)
6. Norman Nato, ROKiT Venturi Racing - 1:17.302s (96 laps)
7. Jake Hughes, Mercedes-Benz EQ - 1:17.303s (75 laps)
8. Lucas Auer, BMW i Andretti Motorsport - 1:17.327s (86 laps)
9. Kelvin van der Linde, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler - 1:17.360s (84 laps)
10. Sacha Fenestraz, Panasonic Jaguar Racing - 1:17.490s (81 laps)
11. Daniel Juncadella, Mercedes-Benz EQ - 1:17.594s (94 laps)
12. Mattia Drudi, Audi Sport ABT Schaffler - 1:17.703s (81 laps)
13. Jamie Chadwick, Panasonic Jaguar Racing - 1:17.721s (89 laps)
14. Mitsunori Takaboshi, Nissan e.dams - 1:17.799s (79 laps)
15. Thomas Preining, TAG Heuer Porsche - 1:17.904s (80 laps)
16. Luis Felipe Derani, Mahindra Racing - 1:17.941s (77 laps)
17. Jann Mardenborough, Nissan e.dams - 1:17.942s (68 laps)
18. Joel Eriksson, Geox Dragon - 1:18.019s (79 laps)
19. Arthur Leclerc, ROKiT Venturi Racing - 1:18.076s (88 laps)
20. Sam Dejonghe, Mahindra Racing - 1:18.141s (90 laps)
21. Alice Powell, Envision Virgin Racing - 1:18.301s (83 laps)
22. Antonio Fuoco, NIO 333 - 1:18.736s (74 laps)
23. Daniel Cao, NIO 333 - 1:19.234s (81 laps)
24. Frederic Makowieki, TAG Heuer Porsche - 1:19.374s (86 laps)