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Heartbreak struck Oliver Rowland ahead of the trip to Portland, with the Brit firmly in the mix as one of eight drivers with eyes on the top prize.
Illness meant he was unable to make the trip across the Atlantic, and shockingly enough, the Yorkshireman says he came to terms with dropping out of the race for the Drivers' World Championship almost by default right away; "no regrets". Maybe that's given the season he and Nissan have just put together - far and above Rowland and the team's expectations for 2023/24.
![Round 16 highlights](https://resources.formula-e.pulselive.com/photo-resources/2024/07/22/d83ecde1-2f36-4978-bbb6-5be0c11b9aee/Round-16-highlights.jpg?width=1200&height=630)
"Coming into this year, the targets were clear in terms of trying to build a strong team but with a lot of new people inexperienced in this area – it was a case of getting them up to speed," said the 31-year-old.
"If you told me at the start of the year what we’d go on to achieve we’d have never believed it. We wanted to build some consistency and good results and we’ve done more than that.
"I was obviously very disappointed that I couldn’t be there fighting but I quickly accepted the situation, honestly. Coming into London with a chance felt weird but I’d accepted it was over and it was just about trying to make the most of it and have a good weekend.
"I don’t have any regrets and like with Pascal and Nick [on Sunday] sometimes it goes for you and sometimes it goes against you. It was a strange set of circumstances for us but we came here and achieved what we wanted to achieve and we can be very proud of that."
![Rowland wins in London](https://resources.formula-e.pulselive.com/photo-resources/2024/07/22/f0a07ed6-ebb1-4584-b121-f7fff4da1a43/Rowland-wins-in-London.jpg?width=1200&height=630)
Rowland danced around the outskirts of the top three in Round 16 as the last remaining contenders for the title fought it out to the final chequered flag of the campaign. He was hesitant to get involved and potentially ruin someone's chances and their season with an easily-made slip with the pack so close in Formula E.
As it happens, he didn't need to get hands-on as the Jaguars fell by the wayside with Nick Cassidy suffering race-ending contact and Mitch Evans missing his ATTACK MODE activation - allowing the Nissan driver to profit and ultimately cross the line first in front of his home support.
Not a bad result then, for someone who'd never scored a point on home turf in Formula E before!
"I was a bit disappointed with myself yesterday [Saturday in London] with the result that came out of it – I’d never had any luck here. On Sunday, I just bided my time a little bit and took my opportunities when I could.
"When I got to fourth, I really didn’t want to get involved at all in the battle because the last thing I wanted to do was influence what was going on. I think the three guys in the top three have been the class of the field and they deserved to fight it out. I just sat there and watched and almost just kept a safe distance away at times.
"What happened to Nick [Cassidy] was pretty unfortunate for him but I managed to get the place and then get past the two guys who were racing when they went to ATTACK MODE. There was the issue with the Safety Car which meant I had to give it back. But it worked out and I’m super grateful to the team – it’s been an amazing year and definitely something to build on next season."