Bethonie WaringRosberg X Racing claimed the victory after a dramatic opening round of the 2022 Extreme E season.
Johan Kristofferson came back from third after the mid-race driver switch to take the victory in the closing stages of the lap.
The team had been hampered after an incident with the McLaren car of Tanner Foust left the team with damage to the rear.
As Carlos Sainz took the race lead from Sebastien Loeb, RXR and McLaren battled for third position. The two collided, causing the McLaren to roll and leaving the RXR with rear bodywork damage.
Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky in the RXR managed to get the car back to the switchzone, albeit 12s behind the race leader, but it was an early end for McLaren’s first X-Prix. Foust was able to walk away from the scene, and the race was red flagged as the vehicle was recovered.
Sainz had an impressive opening stint which put him more than three seconds ahead of Loeb as they entered the switch zone. The gaps were maintained during the red flag, meaning Laia Sanz maintained the lead over Christina Gutierrez as they left the pits.
Gutierrez began to close the gap, but found herself under attack from Kristofferson, who had closed the gap from 12s to nothing with a strategic use of the hyper drive.
Kristofferson snatched second from Gutierrez, then took the race lead from Sanz to finish just two seconds ahead of the Sainz squad.
X44 took third, a further three seconds back, with Chip Ganassi Racing completing the order after a quiet race.
Image courtesy of Extreme E
Andrea Perilli