De Vries wins wet/dry second Tokyo E-Prix

Nyck de Vries won the second race of the Tokyo E-Prix after a one-lap dash to the finish following a late red flag.

The stoppage came after de Vries’ Mahindra teammate Edoardo Mortara and Joel Eriksson had a coming together at Turns 17 and 18 which also caught Jaguar TCS Racing's Antonio Felix da Costa, who had built a huge lead early on, only to drop back as the track dried following a pre-race shower.

De Vries had qualified fifth, and was one of several drivers to gamble with dry tire pressures despite the race starting in damp conditions. That paid off and he was into the lead by lap 28, passing Oliver Rowland with the help of Attack Mode, and he remained in that position when the red flag came out five laps later. In fact, the red flag was beneficial for de Vries who was given respite from decreasing pace and a rapidly closing Jake Dennis.

Dennis enjoyed a similar strategy. He started 18th and the race eventually came to him as the track dried, with him coming home third. It could have been a win, too, with him charging forward with Attack Mode when the red flag halted his run and neutered his additional power and four-wheel-drive advantage. He settled for second, behind Nick Cassidy.

Cassidy qualified down in 13th, but was another who charged through the field having started with dry tire pressures. hlhe was able to come home second to take another podium for Citroën Racing in what has been a difficult weekend for the team.

Rowland's gable on a more wet-oriented setup got him points, but he fell from the victory-threatening position of earlier. He finished fourth, with Citroën's Jean-Eric Vergne splitting Rowland and his Nissan teammate Norman Nato.

Sebastien Buemi was seventh, with Nico Mueller eighth, salvaging points after failing to finish on Saturday. DS Penske's Taylor Barnard and Maximilian Guenther completed the scorers.

After failing to get points on Saturday, Pascal Wehrlein endured a similar fate during Sunday's race, finishing 15th. Mitch Evans, who retook the championship lead from Wehrlein on Saturday also failed to score after retiring, meaning that Dennis has moved into the championship lead with one event, two rounds still to go. Just five points split Dennis, Evans, and Wehrlien.

Porsche has clinched the manufacturers’ title with two races to go, but the teams’ championship remains up for grabs with Jaguar TCS Racing leading Porsche by 16 points.

The title-deciding London E-Prix doubleheaader will take place Aug. 15-16 to close out the GEN3 era.

RESULTS