Andrea Mantovani upset the predicted form book at Mugello to hold Matteo Ferrari at bay and secure a superb maiden MotoE World Championship win on home soil.

On the RNF Racing Ducati MotoE machine, Mantovani made the most of a strong start to escape away from the chasing pack with Ferrari and Mattia Casadei before working his way to the front and holding firm to the flag.

A maiden win for both Mantovani and RNF Racing in MotoE, while few might have picked the Italian for a victory tilt, his Mugello potential was demonstrated 12 months ago when he scored a podium result during a guest outing, even if stewards eventually excluded him for a technical infringement.

Even so, most eyes were on Ferrari on pole position, the Gresini Racing rider getting things off to a good start with the hole-shot into Turn 1, ahead of Casadei and Mantovani, up from fifth on the grid.

With the top three quickly breaking away from the feuding Dynavolt IntactGP bikes - Randy Krummenacher and Hector Garzo holding each other up with their battle - the race up front settled into a back-and-forth through the slipstream.

Eventually though it was Mantovani who worked his way to the front, taking a lead he wasn't willing to relinquish.

With two laps to go it appeared the more experienced Ferrari and Casadei had timed their attack to perfection as they swept through on the run to Turn 1. However, with Casadei running a touch off-line through the right-hander and Ferrari going wider still, a cool Mantovani simply ducked back beneath both to retake the lead.

It was a beautiful move that appeared to motivate Mantovani further, getting the hammer down to give himself enough of a buffer out of the last corner for the final time to hold onto the flag and victory.

Ferrari chased him across the line, the 2019 MotoE World Champion having nosed ahead of Casadei on the run up to Turn 2 on the last lap.

Beyond the top three, Garzo and Krummenacher maintained their close battle from lap one right to the flag, with the former bearing his Swiss team-mate to fourth by just +0.027s.

In sixth, Eric Granado paid the price for a poor start from the front row to finish sixth on his MotoE Ducati debut, the Brazilian having been forced to skip the opening round.

SIC58 duo Kevin Manfredi and Kevin Zannoni followed in seventh and eighth, the pair benefiting from a crash ahead at Turn 1 for Nicholas Spinelli.

Sidelined by injury 12 months ago, Jordi Torres is making his Mugello debut on a MotoE bike this weekend, a lack of experience that appeared to show as he laboured to a distant ninth. Despite this, the Aspar rider remains out front in the overall standings after three races.

Italian MotoE, Mugello | Race 1 Results

Saturday | Conditions - Dry, Overcast