Jean-Eric Vergne hailed a "big day" for the DS Techeetah team after bouncing back from a three-race streak without points to chalk up his first win of the Formula E season in Sanya on Saturday, boosti🥃ng his hopes of defending his drivers' title.

Reigning Formula E champion Vergne won a race-long battl🅠e with Nissan's Oliver Rowland in Sanya to pick up his first win since the New York City E-Prix last July, moving up to third place in the drivers' standings in the process.

The result marked the first win for the partnership between F💎rench manufacturer D🌄S and the Chinese Techeetah team, which also celebrated a home victory on the island of Hainan.

"I feel very proud and happy to be a♉ble to bring this win to DS. It’s a new relationship, always difficult when you start, but after 20 races in a row in the points, the last th✤ree races not being able to score any points was extremely hard and tough on me," Vergne said in the post-race press conference.

"I did not sleep very well inbetween Hong Kong and here. But the fact that we were able to stick togethe🃏r as a team and keep working with the same wish of moving forward and doing the best job possible has paid off today. I can’t be any happier with the job we have done.

"It’s a big day for us. We are a Chinese team and winning here is absolutely amazing. Up until the podium when we had the Chinese anthem, all the fans were singing it, and it💦 was actually quite emotional."

Vergne made the race-winning move just past half-distance after diꦯving past Rowland, who had managed to fend off the Frenchman through the opening stages with aplomb.

"He’s a tough man to overtake. He was moving a little bit, ♓but that’s racing, you play within the rules," Vergne said.

"I thought there was only one corner I could overtakꦡe him. I tried to attack him on many other corners, but not that one. Many laps I was lifting extremely early, so he saw that I was never, ever close to him.

"W꧙hen the m💧oment came, I just went for it, and I think I surprised him."

VERGNE DEDICATES WIN TO WHITING

Vergne was quick to dedicateꦬ his victory in Sanya to the la🐼te F1 race director Charlie Whiting, who died suddenly last week at the age of 66.

Vergn𝔉e worked closely with Whiting during his time in F1 as a member of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association.

"We had a lot o✃f discussions, and I got to learn a lot from him. He was a brilliant man, a lot more than just a race director, and losing him was a massive loss for the world of motorsport in general," Vergne said.

"He was not only ♒working for F1, but all the race directors around the world were working with him.

"Losing him was not very nice,🥀 so I dedicated my win to him🐼. It is the minimum we could do as racing drivers, so it goes to him."