Gunther had also started Saturday’s opening race in Indonesia from pole position, but showed far superior long-run pace in the second leg of the double header, converting pole into the lead then outduelling Andretti’s Jake Dennis to score his first FE win in three years.
A good getaway meant Gunther maintained his advantage into Turn 1, with Dennis also staying in second position despite Jaguar’s Mitch Evans making a rapid launch from third.
Gunther was the first of the frontrunners to activate the Attack Mode on lap four, dropping to third behind Dennis and Evans after rejoining the track.
Dennis followed Gunther into Attack Mode on the following tour and emerged in front, taking the net lead.
On lap 15, Dennis activated his second Attack Mode on the wider line at Turn 16, slipping momentarily behind both Gunther and Evans.
With Dennis stuck behind Evans, Gunther immediately upped his pace and set personal best times in sectors 1 and 2. As a result, when Gunther took his second Attack Mode on lap 17, he emerged back ahead of Dennis and reasserted his position at the front of the pack.
However, the battle for the lead was far from settled, with Dennis immediately putting the pressure on Gunther, as Evans remained first on the road and still with a chance of stealing the victory.
On lap 19, Dennis tried to go around the outside into Turn 1, a departure from the usual tactic of diving towards the inside into the right-hander.
Source: Autosport