Hersham’s Sam Bird cursed his team’s bad luck as a loss of radio control cost him a second victory of the Formula E Championship in Miami at the weekend.

The 28-year-old, who qualified in fourth and was fastest in the weekend’s opening practice session, passed Jean Eric Vergne to take the lead on lap 19.

But a Virgin Racing radio outage at the race’s mid-point meant Bird pitted for a car changeover a lap later than intended.

Bird returned to the track in ninth position and had to settle for eighth under the watchful eye of team owner Sir Richard Branson.

“The start of the race was very strong and we fought hard for the lead,” said Bird.

“We executed our race strategy, but this time we did not get it as right as previous races.

“I pitted a lap later than most of my competitors and had very low energy levels on my in-lap, which lost me time.

“I am already looking forward to returning next year and getting on the podium then.”