Renault e.dams driver Sebastien Buemi will start from the pole for this afternoon’s first race of the final weekend of the ABB Formula E Championship season in Brooklyn, N.Y., after setting a time of 1m13.911s — the second-fastest of the session.

In a potential twist to the championship battle, points leader Jean-Eric Vergne — who’d set the fastest lap of the session — and his Techeetah teammate Andre Lotterer had their times canceled after switching to full power (200kW) too early during the qualifying session. Vergne will start the race at then back of the grid, while Lotterer starts in 19th.

Starting the race behind Buemi is Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s Mitch Evans, who posted a time of 1m14.465s in the Super Pole shootout. Having qualified well in a number of races in Season 4, including a pole most recently in Zurich, Evans will be looking to convert the strong start into his first win here in New York City.

After announcing his departure from the Renault e.dams team after the New York finale, Nico Prost posted an impressive lap in qualifying, which saw him through to the Super Pole shootout. Posting a time of 1m14.921s, Prost will start the race in third.

With just 23 points separating Vergne and championship hopeful Sam Bird, the Frenchman will need to work very hard to wrap up the championship today.

“We came here to be super quick… [the decision] incredibly disappointing but we’ll soldier on and see how we get on in the race,” said team principal Mark Preston.

After posting a disappointing lap time, Bird will start the race in 14th, six places ahead of his main opponent Vergne, which increases his chances of extending the championship to Sunday as the final fight continues between the two drivers.

For NIO Formula E’s Oliver Turvey, a collision with the wall in practice put him out for qualifying with a wrist injury. As a result, the NIO driver will not be starting the race.

Last year’s poleman Alex Lynn (DS Virgin Racing) will start the race one place ahead of his teammate in 13th.