Midway through his third season in the ABB FIA Formula E series, Kiwi Mitch Evans has broken through to claim a memorable and hard-fought maiden race win in Rome earlier this morning.
The former GP3 Series champ and his Panasonic Jaguar Racing squad have been building towards scoring a big result, following a podium at the dawn of last season and a long string of points-paying finishes in the current 2018–’19 season.
As the seventh different winner in as many races this season, Evans now sits fourth in the standings; just four points separating him and series leader Jerome D'Ambrosio.
The win was scalped after a race-long battle with Andre Lotterer. The duo started from the front row together, and fought for first in a duel that outlasted the pit cycle, as well as a red flag period for the strewn, track-blocking crashed cars of Jean-Eric Vergne, Jose Maria Lopez, and Gary Paffett.
After the race resumed, Evans utilized the category's new-for-2018–’19 'Attack Mode' ability to make a memorable pass around Lotterer through the Italian circuit's tight chicane.
The Kiwi's temporary power boost allowed him to get alongside the former 24 Hours of Le Mans winner. It was a physical pass, as the pair nudged and swapped paint while running side-by-side, but ultimately it was the move that won Evans the race.
.@mitchevans_ overtakes @Andre_Lotterer for the lead of the race #ABBFormulaE #RomeEPrix pic.twitter.com/MsBk0NVPst
— ABB Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) April 13, 2019
Lotterer tried to return the favour a few minutes later in exactly the same fashion, but while he got close to Evans he couldn't get back by — leaving the Jaguar pilot to win by just under a second.
Former McLaren pilot Stoffel Vandoorne claimed third, ahead of Robin Frijns, Sébastian Buemi, Oliver Rowland, Lucas Di Grassi, d'Ambrosio, Antionio Felix da Costa, and Pascal Werhlein. The series now prepares to travel to Paris, France, for race eight of the season on April 27.