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Edoardo Mortara will start the second race of Formula E’s Tokyo E-Prix from pole position after defeating Antonio Felix da Costa in the final duel. The Mahindra driver produced a commanding qualifying performance to secure his fourth pole position of the year.
Mortara’s three-point reward for pole also reduced his deficit to championship leader Mitch Evans to 28 points, adding further significance to a session that already reshaped the front of the grid. His result comes one day after Jake Dennis claimed pole for the opening race, as detailed in the report on Dennis’s dramatic Tokyo E-Prix qualifying victory.
Saturday’s race winner Dan Ticktum again showed strong pace and progressed to the semi-finals. However, he was unable to reach the final and will start third, alongside Taylor Barnard on the second row. Da Costa, meanwhile, secured second despite finishing eight-tenths behind Mortara in the deciding duel.
Mortara was in control throughout the final, going faster than the Jaguar driver in every sector before setting a benchmark time of 1m 12.341s. Da Costa’s runner-up position nevertheless gives him a strong starting place for the second race.
The route to the final underlined the quality of the opposition. Da Costa defeated Nissan’s Norman Nato before progressing past DS Penske’s Barnard. Mortara overcame reigning world champion Oliver Rowland and then Ticktum to complete his run to pole.
In the other quarter-finals, Barnard beat Evans, while Ticktum defeated Nyck de Vries.
Evans enjoyed a better qualifying session than on Saturday and secured seventh on the grid. His closest championship rivals, Pascal Wehrlein and Jake Dennis, were unable to reach the duels, leaving both with work to do from outside the leading group.
The session followed a dramatic change in track conditions. A major thunderstorm soaked the circuit earlier in the day, forcing the cancellation of third practice, but the surface improved considerably by the time qualifying began.
Dennis, Saturday’s polesitter, endured a frustrating group stage and was eliminated immediately. Evans progressed from the opening group, where Da Costa was fastest ahead of the championship leader, with Barnard and Nato also advancing.
In the second group, Wehrlein’s difficult Tokyo weekend continued as he managed only sixth-fastest. Mortara topped the group, joined in the duels by de Vries, Ticktum and Rowland.
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