Sam Bird believes that his victory in Saturday’s Formula E race in Buenos Aires ranks among the best of his career.
Starting from pole, Bird led from for all but half a lap at Puerto Madero en route to his third victory in Formula E, but spent the closing stages fending off championship leader Sebastien Buemi.
A mix of brave overtaking and good fortune had seen Buemi charge from last on the grid to run second late on, harassing Bird for the lead in his faster Renault e.dams.
Bird managed to keep Buemi back with some fine defensive driving before pulling away when the Swiss driver had trouble with his power regeneration late on.
Speaking to Grand Prix Times after the race, Bird said that he believed the victory ranked among the very best of his racing career.
“I think it’s up there, I think it’s really good,” Bird said. “I enjoy all the victories. I look back on all of them with fondness but considering we were fighting with two cars that are really good at the moment, to come out and beat them hands down feels very nice.
“We’ve learned a lot from Punta del Este, like I’ve told everybody and we put that into good practice and we did the best we could. We maximised everything and we’ve come away with 28 points so really happy."
Bird conceded that the result came as something of a surprise given the struggles DS Virgin Racing have experienced at the start of the year, particularly the added weight the car is carrying as a result of its twin-motor powertrain layout.
“I was coming into [the weekend] thinking positive top five,” Bird said. “I think we deserve top fives all the time now. But to get on pole and then win and lead every single minute of the race, that’s very special."
