Formula E Marrakesh E-Prix: Antonio Felix Da Costa collects first win
- Published
Highlights: Da Costa wins Marrakesh E-Prix as Guenther steals second on final lap
Portugal's Antonio Felix da Costa took the lead in the Formula E championship with a dominant victory in Marrakesh.
Da Costa finished more than 11 seconds clear of Max Gunther, who overtook double Formula E champion Jean-Eric Vergne on the last lap.
The 28-year-old picked up 28 points, including three for starting from pole, and now leads the standings by 11 from Mitch Evans who was sixth.
Oliver Rowland was the best placed British driver in ninth.
Da Costa became the fifth different driver to win a race in the opening five of the new season and he did so despite dropping to second midway through the 45-minute plus one lap race to conserve energy.
He said: "I had to play a brave card. I had to let Max get super close there, and I had to force him to use his energy and in the second attack mode.
"I was controlling Andre (Lotterer) and it worked out perfectly."
Frenchman Vergne, who missed out on Friday's practice session because he was ill, started in 11th, and drove a superb race to finish in third, with championship leaders DS Techeetah celebrating a double podium.
The 15-minute battle for second between Vergne and Gunther was intense, and the German BMW iAndretti finally slipped by going into the penultimate corner.
New Zealand's Evans, who won the previous race in Mexico, had an impressive drive, rising to sixth after starting in 24th and last place on the grid.
Evans, who led the championship going into the Marrakesh race, suffered a huge blow to his championship hopes in qualifying, after Jaguar miscalculated the time available to set a qualifying lap in the group stages and he was timed out.
Driver of the day
Vergne should be applauded for his impressive drive - making up eight places while battling a feisty Max Gunther - and collecting a haul of points for the team while feeling under the weather.
However, Evans' skilful 18-place leap from 24th to sixth makes him driver of the day.
Despite the disappointment from the team's miscalculation in qualifying, Evans' 1:17.309 lap in free practice two would have been enough to be in with a shot at superpole - in which pole position is decided.
The performance gains from Jaguar in the last two races mean that Evans still has a chance in the championship.
The Sanya E-Prix has been cancelled after coronavirus concerns in China, which means round six is the Rome E-Prix on 4 April.
The Rome E-Prix is live on BBC TV, iPlayer & the BBC Sport website on 4 April