Jakarta. Jaguar TCS Racing driver Mitch Evans beat pole-sitter Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah) to win Indonesia’s historic Formula E race at the brand new Jakarta International E-Prix Circuit on Saturday.

It’s the third win of the season for Evans, who made a crucial pass on Lap 31 to take the lead from Vergne.

Edoardo Mortara (ROKiT Venturi Racing) grabbed the final spot on the rostrum and reduced the gap in drivers’ standings with the top four drivers now split within just 12 points.

Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes-EQ) finished fifth in the inaugural race in Jakarta to retain his lead in the world championship, but Vergne is only five points behind. 

Mortara is now third, seven shy of the leader, and Evans is 12 points back in fourth.

Big Success 
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo described the race as the future of motor racing and hailed the Jakarta event as a big success.

"Thankfully the event went on smoothly and well. This is an event of the future because there will be a major shift from [fossil fuel-powered] cars to electric cars," the president said at the circuit after watching the race in full.

The Indonesian government fully supports Formula E as part of its campaign for an “electric vehicle ecosystem” where the government intends to build necessary infrastructures for the whole chains of the industry from battery production to assembly plants, said Jokowi, who joined the post-race celebration on the podium and handed the trophy to the winner. 

Jakarta has been aiming to host a Formula E race since 2020 but the event was postponed twice due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It took just months to complete the 2.37-kilometer circuit next to Ancol Beach after the capital city was officially included in the calendar to host the ninth round of the season.