Nissan e.dams driver and poleman Sebastien Buemi pulled away at the start, taking an early lead, while the rest of the ABB Formula E series pack made its way around the 1.4 mile Brooklyn street circuit.

Moments later, Geox Dragon’s Jose Maria Lopez spun after a tap from Envision Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird, causing chaos on Turn 7. In a bid to avoid the pack, DS Techeetah driver Andre Lotterer swerved into his teammate and title hopeful Jean-Eric Vergne, puncturing his rear tire and forcing him into the pits.

Chaos on the opening lap as Lotterer spins. Image by Galloway/LAT

With the new tire fitted, Vergne returned to the track in 19th place — far from the title-clinching points he so badly needed.

In the meantime, Lotterer followed his teammate into the pits to repair the damage he sustained to the front of his car. With his front wing and wheel arch littering around the track, play continued as Vergne went on the hunt for di Grassi in 11th – just one position away from the points.

Up at the front of the pack, Buemi held the lead despite challenges from Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s Alex Lynn in second. Behind Lynn, BMW i Andretti Motorsport driver Alex Sims kept his distance, biding his time in third while the Buemi and Lynn battled for the top spot.

After contact in the opening laps, Envision Virgin Racing’s Robin Frijns retired as a result of the damage he sustained. With 20 minutes left on the clock, Lynn slowed on the track reporting problems with the car. Coming to a stop after Turn 11, the British driver fell from the front and retired from the race, scuppering his chances of his first podium finish of the season.

With the BMW i8 Safety Car deployed, the pack regrouped with Buemi in the lead, Sims in second and Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler’s Daniel Abt in third. In a bid to clinch a spot on the podium, Evans slipped past Abt on Turn 4 to take third, striking the side of the German driver’s car in the process. Off the racing line, Abt dropped to ninth, one place behind teammate Lucas di Grassi who had made his way to eighth.

Further down the pack, defending champion Vergne had moved up to 14th, still four places outside the points. Still determined to take the top spot, Evans made another move to take second to challenge Buemi for the lead.

With eight minutes left, Buemi led the way followed by Evans in second and Antonio Felix da Costa in third. In the final lap of the race, a hard crash in Turn 2 between Vergne and Massa destroyed the Frenchman’s chances of clinching the championship title today.

Crossing the line in first, Buemi secured his first win of the season followed by Evans in second and da Costa in third.