Sam Bird has completed his maiden test outing with Jaguar Racing in preparation for Formula E’s seventh season.
The British driver, who is one of only three drivers to have contested every race of the championship to date, joined Jaguar after ending a six-season stint with Envision Virgin Racing.
It is understood that the nine-time E-Prix winner was on Jaguar’s radar for a long-time, and by joining the team, partners Mitch Evans.
Reflecting on the test outing, Bird described it as a proud moment in his career and explained that he has already built a strong relationship with the British marque.
“I felt very proud to put on the Jaguar overalls this morning for the first time and follow in the footsteps of the great drivers that have competed for Jaguar,” he said.
“I’ve been getting up to speed with my engineers & there is already a great relationship to build on.”
In Season 6, Jaguar recorded one victory and one further podium finish both courtesy of Evans, however, failed to build on its success from previous seasons, taking seventh in the Teams’ Championship.
Continuing, Bird expressed both his and Evans’ motivation for the coming season, underpinned by a hunger for success.
“Mitch and I have also spent some time together and we are both hungry to bring more success to the team,” added Bird.
“We have a long season ahead but we’ve made a good start and are looking forward to the season 7 car launch next month and the official pre-season test in Valencia.”
The team also confirmed a long-term extension of its partner GKN Automotive, while its four-season Title Partnership with Panasonic will not be renewed for the 2020/21 campaign.
Pre-season testing will take place at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit on November 27-December 1.
