Formula E

Dan Ticktum snatches dramatic final lap win in Tokyo ePrix race 1

Motorsport Technology
3 months ago
4 min read

Dan Ticktum secured a dramatic final lap victory to win race 1 of the Tokyo ePrix, pouncing on the penultimate corner to overtake Jake Dennis with Nick Cassidy third.


“I want to say a big thank you to the team,” said Ticktum afterwards. “This has been one of the hardest seasons I think I can remember in my whole career.

“We really haven’t had any fortune. We’ve made mistakes as a team, I’ve made mistakes, but today was the opposite. We nailed it.”

Having admittedly endured a frustrating season, the British CUPRA Kiro driver really had the bit between his teeth, making ground from sixth on the grid by utilising Pit Boost and Atack Mode early on.

His aggressive strategy paid handsome dividends, and despite losing the lead to Dennis’ late Attack Mode, a brilliant move saw him regain the place and race win.

“On the last lap, to be honest, I thought I’d used too much energy in defending such a big gap,” added Ticktum.

“I thought I might have consumed a little bit too much and that they were going to come back at me, but when I came out of ATTACK MODE the target was still okay.

TOKYO, JAPAN – JULY 25: Russell O’Hagan, Team Principal and COO of CUPRA KIRO and Race winner Dan Ticktum of on the podium after the 2026 Tokyo E-Prix, (Photo by Simon Galloway/LAT Images)

“I didn’t want to fight that one too much – I was actually quite happy with second position because I think we executed very well up to that point.

“On the penultimate lap he tried to build a bit of a gap, and then on the straight down to Turn 16 on the last lap, he just had to lift early.

“It was a pretty straightforward move, but it was certainly in the back of my mind as a possibility.”

For Dennis, second place still represents a good return and leaves him still very much in contention in the fight for the title with three rounds of racing remaining.

“From our end, I felt like we did a pretty flawless race until the final stretch,” said Dennis.

“The auto-cut obviously kicked in with no energy, and I had to swerve left on Dan. I could have caused a massive crash, or I had to let him go and take the points.

Third placed Nick Cassidy of New Zealand and Citroen Racing, Second placed Jake Dennis of Great Britain and Andretti Formula E and Race winner Dan Ticktum of Great Britain (Photo by Joe Portlock/LAT Images)

“We take the 18 points, which closes the championship lead, and we are only 14 points back now, so it is on.”

It all means that following a DNF for Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein, Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans claimed the top spot in the ABB FIA Formula E Drivers’ World Championship with 144 points.

But the final word must go to Ticktum, who is fighting not only for wins and points, but his very future in the sport.

“Winning has come at a very good time in my career,” added Ticktum. “A lot of people know that I’m currently a free agent, and I don’t really know what more I can do to prove that I should remain in Formula E.

“I hope I can be here for GEN4 because that’s going to be right up my street.”

TAKE THE FE TRACK TO YOUR HOME WITH THE ULTIMATE RIGS FROM FANATEC

Motorsport Technology

View all posts

You may also like