Cassidy 'back' but admits Porsche are 'next level'

Nick Cassidy admitted that the Porsches are simply "next level" currently but that the old version of him was "back" last weekend, in the inaugural Misano E-Prix double-header.

It has been a difficult few rounds for Jaguar as a manufacturer ever since São Paulo, where Cassidy crashed out and team-mate Mitch Evans lost a victory at the penultimate corner.

Tokyo was another disappointing race, as Cassidy was disqualified in qualifying but did superbly to calve his way into the points. There was yet more frustration for the New Zealander on Saturday in the opening race of the double-header, after he was forced into a wall.

Understandably, he was furious after the first race but bounced back with a bang in the second, and pipped Nico Müller to third by just 0.050 secs.

Despite the delight of finally ending his recent rut, he was quick to note that Porsche are clear.

"The Porsches are just next level realistically man," Cassidy told RacingNews365.

"We were unlucky in the race, the safety car was the worst time, as we were well positioned and I was the only car with two attack modes done, but it meant that the whole field was bunched up and then everyone did attack mode and basically passed me.

"Shuffled me way back, because of that to walk away with a P3 was pretty good I think, I just achieved the most because today."

'Old Nick' returns

Prior to his podium at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Cassidy's tough run started, as mentioned, by crashing in São Paulo.

On that day in Brazil, the 29-year-old was incredibly self-critical, something he has since recognised.

He conceded that he returned to his old-self in Misano and left everything on the table, with it having just been frustrating that the safety car for Robin Frijns' car to be recovered impacted his race.

"Honestly, I just don't think I could have done anything different yesterday," assessed Cassidy. "I thought I did a great job in the opening laps.

"I'm pretty happy with my performance today. I was very self-critical on myself after São Paulo, but this was the old Nick this weekend. I'm back, it's just annoying."