Sam Bird ended practice for Formula E’s Mexico City E-Prix on top for Virgin Racing.
Bird was the final driver to grab first place in a frantic flurry of new benchmark times in the closing minutes.
His 1m07.672s lap was just over a tenth of a second clear of DS Techeetah driver Antonio Felix da Costa in second.
Long-time pacesetter Mitch Evans’s Jaguar was knocked down the order in the late battle before vaulting back to third.
Nissan e.dams’ Sebastien Buemi and leading Mercedes runner Stoffel Vandoorne completed the top five.
Santiago race winner Maximilian Gunther was down in 16th after nosing his BMW into the barriers at the entrance to the stadium section late on.
Reigning champion Jean-Eric Vergne was also off the pace, making clear his discomfort with the DS Techeetah’s set-up over the radio as he only managed 10th fastest.
The opening practice session was hampered by a damp track from overnight rain and truncated by a big crash for Daniel Abt.
The Audi driver ploughed into the barriers at the right-hander heading into the stadium section in an impact that triggered the car’s g-loading sensor and prompted a mandatory hospital visit for checks.
Venturi’s Edoardo Mortara was fastest at the time of the crash, ahead of the two Mahindras. Mortara ended up 21st in practice two.
