Sports stars often talk about being in the “zone,” that mythical place where good things happen.
For Formula E driver Sam Bird, his “zone” moment came in what he calls the “race of my life” in Buenos Aires in 2016. The Briton led from the start and says he was at one with his car, although he described the experience as “intense” as he fended off a phalanx of challengers to clinch his first victory that season. “Going through the final chicane of every single lap I just needed to show the front of the car the corner and the car was turning for me,” he told CNN’s Supercharged TV show.
“I don’t think I ever really needed to do too much steering input, I just played with the rear like a rally car for 30 odd laps. It was really, really intense.” From winning on his hometown track in London in 2015 to crashing out in Mexico City earlier this year, the 30-year-old Bird has experienced nearly everything possible on the track. But that race in the Argentine capital, the fourth event of Formula E’s second season, gave Bird a much-needed boost after a sluggish start to the campaign.
He blitzed through qualifying to sit on pole before launching his blistering burst. “I think I’d eaten my Weetabix that morning and I was able to secure pole position and then it really was the race of my life,” Bird added. Bird certainly did not have an easy ride, having to fend off the advances of both Lucas di Grassi and eventual Championship winner Sebastian Buemi during the race.
