Sebastien Buemi goes back-to-back with win in Marrakesh

Published Nov. 15, 2016 1:55 p.m. ET

Samuel Reiman

Sebastien Buemi has won the opening two rounds of the 2016-2017 FIA Formula E season.

The Swiss e.dams-Renault driver rallied his way up from seventh on the grid to win Saturday’s Marrakesh ePrix at the Marrakesh Street Circuit.

Buemi had initially qualified in second position, but had been handed a five-place grid penalty for an underweight fire extinguisher.

The majority of the race was dominated by Mahindra Racing driver Felix Rosenqvist, who had qualified on pole position.

The Swede, who turned 25 earlier this week, led the field away from pole position and began to pull away. However, he was forced to pit a lap earlier than the rest of the front runners and so he didn’t have as much energy for the last part of the race.

The TECHEETAH car driven by Jean-Eric Vergne, who had started fourth after failing to set a time during the Super Pole shootout in qualifying, was catching Rosenqvist in the closing stages but was then handed a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pits during his stop.

This moved Buemi up into the second spot, and he was able to run down and pass Rosenqvist in the closing laps of the race for his eighth career Formula E win.

Sam Bird followed Buemi by Rosenqvist to take the second step on the podium in his DS Virgin Racing machine.

Unofficial race results:

1. Sebastien Buemi - Renault e.dams
2. Sam Bird - DS Virgin Racing
3. Felix Rosenqvist - Mahindra Racing
4. Nico Prost - Renault e.dams
5. Lucas di Grassi - ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport
6. Daniel Abt - ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport
7. Oliver Turvey - NEXTEV NIO
8. Jean-Eric Vergne - TECHEETAH
9. Nick Heidfeld - Mahindra Racing
10. Jose Maria Lopez - DS Virgin Racing
11. Robin Frijns - Andretti Formula E
12. Stephane Sarrazin - Venturi Formula E Team
13. Jerome d’Ambrosio - Faraday Future Dragon Racing
14. Adam Carroll - Panasonic Jaguar Racing
15. Ma Qing Hua - TECHEETAH
16. Nelson Piquet Jr. - NEXTEV NIO
17. Mitch Evans - Panasonic Jaguar Racing
18. Loic Duval - Faraday Future Dragon Racing
19. Maro Engel - Venturi Formula E Team
20. Antonio Felix da Costa - Andretti Formula E