Sam Bird claimed a seventh career Formula E win in a mammoth battle for the victory at the inaugural Rome ePrix for DS Virgin Racing.
Bird started on the front row of the grid after securing second place in qualifying, lining up alongside Felix Rosenqvist who claimed pole position for Mahindra Racing.
Bird had a strong start from the second place spot on the grid and maintained the position throughout the first stint of the race, closely following Rosenqvist who had held onto first place despite having a slow getaway from his grid box.
On lap 16, the pit window opened as Antonio Felix da Costa pitted early for Andretti Formula E after using a large amount of energy in the opening stages of the race. The leaders quickly followed the Portuguese driver in, however, and in the mandatory mid-race car switch, Rosenqvist not only held onto but extended his lead over Bird.
A multi-car pileup in the midfield promoted the full course yellow to be deployed but the race was quickly resumed on lap 19, only to be interrupted again on lap 24 when race leader Rosenqvist suffered a suspension failure, handing Bird first place.
The battle for the race win heated up in the closing stages as Jaguar Racing's Mitch Evans and reigning champion Lucas di Grassi closed up to Bird, trying to snatch a potential win out out the British driver's grasp.
Bird held off the threat, however, and scored a memorable win for the DS Virgin squad, with di Grassi getting the edge over Evans to finish in second after the New Zealander ran out of usable energy, meaning that he trundled across the line in ninth.
Evans' downfall promoted Techeetah's Andre Lotterer to the final step of the podium, a result that marks the German driver's second points finish and second podium in Formula E.
Daniel Abt crossed the line in fourth place in the second Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler car, holding off championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne who finished in fifth after having a poor start from eighth on the grid and being hit by Alex Lynn on the opening lap.
Sebastien Buemi was the highest finishing Renault e.dams car in sixth place, looking like a potential podium contender in the first part of the race before being shuffled back through the pack.
Jerome d'Ambrosio brought Dragon Racing back into the points through a seventh place finish, performing the overcut strategy and taking advantage of a full course yellow to finish inside the top ten after starting from 16th.
Maro Engel fronted a double points finish for Venturi in eighth, with Edoardo Mortara finishing in tenth place while the pair were separated by Evans.
Outside of the top ten, da Costa finished in 11th place after suffering in his second stint due to his early pitstop while Oliver Turvey got the edge over Luca Filippi despite the Italian racer collecting his team-mate in a pile up during the mid-race pit window, with the NIO pair finishing in 12th and 13th.
Nico Prost again failed to finish inside the points in the second Renault e.dams car, finishing in 14th while Tom Blomqvist dropped back into 15th after starting from 12th.
Nick Heidfeld failed to score any points for Mahindra, being a victim of the mid-race multi-car pileup to finish in 16th while Jose Maria Lopez stopped in the closing stages of the race with a suspension failure for Dragon.
Joining Rosenqvist in retirement was Jaguar Racing's Nelson Piquet Jr who suffered from an unsafe release while Lynn also failed to finish in the second DS Virgin car.
Despite finishing in fifth place, Vergne maintains his lead in the Drivers' Championship while Bird has jumped Rosenqvist in the standings, meaning that the British driver is now 18 points adrift of the lead with five races remaining in Season Four.