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The incident, which occurred on just the second lap, ruined his race and sent Cassidy tumbling down the order.
In the dramatic clash, in which the Halo once again showed its strength and necessity, Evans was sent flying over the rear of Cassidy’s car. The Envision Racing driver was able to escape and get back in the pack, and fought his way into 14th. However, for Evans, despite his and the team’s best efforts, he was forced to retire.
“It hurts, it sucks right now,” Evans said after the race. “It all happened very quickly, I wasn't expecting them to back up so much as I was approaching the back of Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti).
“I tried to avoid it, but then I rode Nick Cassidy’s wheel, and it just got out of control. I feel really bad. It caught me by surprise, I was not expecting them to be that slow at the apex.”
Evans has now brought an end to his run of consecutive race wins here in Rome, after winning yesterday as well as achieving the Julius Baer Pole Position and fastest lap. He still remains third in the Drivers’ World Championship, but is on 151 points compared to Dennis who leads with 195 points.
“It was a really critical time of the season, I was in an attacking mindset, I wanted to make progress and position myself into Turn 8 to get Nick, but obviously it didn't go to plan. Feel sorry for Nick, and the Envision Racing guys. This has obviously really hurt my championship now.”