Bird – who at one stage in qualifying had been stripped of a place in the duels due to a stewards’ decision, before being reinstated – was fractionally quicker than Evans through the opening sector.
But the Briton set a middle sector more than a second slower than his Kiwi rival, a deficit that remained until the flag as Evans set a 1m39.089s to take pole.
Practice pacesetter Evans also claimed three championship points for his pole position, reducing his deficit to championship leader Jake Dennis down to 29 ahead of the Rome E-Prix double-header.
Evans had progressed through to the final with a 1m38.461s time in his semi-final, as Envision Racing’s Sebastien Buemi put in a poor lap that was more than two seconds slower.
An error in the middle sector for Sacha Fenestraz meant the Nissan driver finished more than a second slower than Bird in the opening semi-final duel as the Briton set a 1m38.761s.
A strong final sector ensured Evans progressed through the last of the quarter-finals with the fastest time from qualifying – a 1m38.460s – as Maserati’s Edoardo Mortara finished nearly half a second behind.
Bird progressed through to the semi-final having got the better of Dennis in the opening quarter-final duel, the Andretti Autosport driver losing three tenths in the opening sector, which he was never able to recover.
Source: Autosport