Clinching the Pole Position - his ninth in his FIA Formula E career - was last year's race winner and Renault e.dams driver Sebastien Buemi with a time of 1:20.355.

After a leaving Hong Kong with just one point, this could be the comeback the Swiss driver has been hoping for as he starts the race at Circuit Moulay El Hassan, at the front of the grid this afternoon.

Starting behind Buemi in second will be DS Virgin Racing's Sam Bird, who set a lap time of 1:20.615 in the Super Pole shoot-out. Behind Bird is last year's Pole sitter, Felix Rosenqvist (Mahindra Racing), followed by a surprise appearance from Dragon's Jose Maria Lopez ahead of his first start in Season Four of the FIA Formula E Championship. Starting in fifth place will be reigning champion Lucas di Grassi.

With Rosenqvist at the top, teammate Nick Heidfeld scuppered his chances of getting into Super Pole as he drifted sideways, ending up in the barrier awaiting recovery. "It was my mistake and I'm sorry for the team - it shouldn't have happened, said Heidfeld. "I just started braking too late."

Damage was also sustained for MS&AD Andretti's Antonio Felix da Costa, who slammed into the tyre wall after a failing to make a turn. Despite the damage, da Costa starts one up on Venturi Formula E Team's Edoardo Mortara who again suffered from reliability issues.

See below for the full results from Qualifying and Super Pole.

1 - Sebastien Buemi, Renault e.dams 
2 - Sam Bird, DS Virgin Racing 
3 - Felix Rosenqvist, Mahindra Racing 
4 - Jose Maria Lopez, Dragon 
5 - Lucas di Grassi, Audi Sport ABT Shaeffler 
6 - Alex Lynn, DS Virgin Racing 
7 - Nelson Piquet Jn, Panasonic Jaguar Racing 
8 - Daniel Abt, Audi Sport ABT Shaeffler 
9 - Mitch Evans, Panasonic Jaguar Racing 
10 - Oliver Turvey, NIO Formula E Team 
11 - Luca Filippi, NIO Formula E Team 
12 - Tom Blomqvist, MS&AD Andretti Formula E 
13 - Jean-Eric Vergne, TECHEETAH
14 - Maro Engel, Venturi Formula E Team
15 - Nico Prost, Renault e.dams 
16 - Jerome D'Ambrosio, Dragon 
17 - Andre Lotterer, TECHEETAH
18 - Nick Heidfeld, Mahindra Racing 
19 - Antonio Felix da Costa, MS&AD Andretti Formula E 
20 - Edoardo Mortara, Venturi Formula E Team

It was Audi Sport Abt Shaeffler who were, once again, at the top of the timesheets in the last practice session ahead of Qualifying here in Marrakesh, after Daniel Abt set a new record time of 1:19.760.

Just behind Abt was teammate and reigning champion Lucas di Grassi with a time of 1:19.898.

Despite a desert mist descending for the second practice, which limited visibility, a total of 13 drivers trumped last years lap record of 1:20.599.

Close behind the Audi drivers was last year's winner and Renault e.dams driver Sebastien Buemi (1:19.936), followed by Panasonic Jaguar Racing's Mitch Evans (1:20.001) and Nelson Piquet Jn. (1:20.115)

Bringing the pace after a disappointing race in Hong Kong was familiar face Jose Maria Lopez for Dragon, who finished in seventh place with a time of 1:20.384.

"It's good to be back. I'm very happy with the runs in free practice, said Lopez. I'm confident that the car is working fine. It's early and I know the team struggled in Hong Kong but we'll see what happens," said Lopez with a confident smile.

Reigning champion Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Shaeffer)set the pace with a record lap - the fastest ever set in Marrakesh for the all-electric series - with a time of 1:20.310.

A full 1.2-seconds quicker than Mahindra Racing's Felix Rosenqvist's Pole lap in Marrakesh last year, the lap shows the level of continuous development within the series but is also a sign that the champ may be back on track after an unremarkable performance in Hong Kong.

At the other end of the spectrum, Venturi Formula E Team's cars - piloted by Edoardo Mortara Maro Engel - were plagued with reliability problems, as both cars stopped on track a number of times. Could we see a repeat of the technical difficulties the team faced at pre-season testing in Valencia?

Third on the timesheets - despite not posting a full 200kW lap - was Audi Sport ABT Shaeffler driver Daniel Abt who posted a time of 1:21.577.

"The plan is to take a lot of points back but we have to go step by step...there's still another practice and qualifying to go," said the 25-year-old German driver.

"We have a good package - this should be more like Valencia pre-season testing where we were strong. You've just got to make the most of it."

On his first outing - after Kamui Kobayashi temporarily took his seat in Hong Kong - MS&AD Andretti Formula E's rookie driver Tom Blomqvist resembled his rally driver father - Stig Blomqvist - as he battled to keep the car on the track.

But for US team Dragon - after a disastrous performance in Hong Kong - Jerome D'Ambrosio posted the second fastest time of the session with a 1:21.224 lap. Could this be the start of a dramatic comeback team?

It has been confirmed that three-time FIA World Touring Car Champion Jose Maria Lopez will replace Neel Jani and race alongside Jerome D’Ambrosio at DRAGON for the remainder of the 2017/18 FIA Formula E Championship season. 

Lopez, a two-time podium-finisher, joined Formula E ahead of last season as the reigning World Touring Car champion, and his performances improved over the course of the campaign – with podium finishes for DS Virgin Racing in Paris and Montreal the main highlights.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing WEC LMP1 driver will make his debut for the American outfit at a familiar location, the Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan, where he has won no fewer than three times before.

Lopez will be looking to give the team their first points of the season at the Marrakesh E-Prix, after both D’Ambrosio and Jani had disappointing weekends in Hong Kong, leaving the team at the bottom of the standings.

After completing only two races for DRAGON, Jani will focus his efforts on the FIA World Endurance Championship with Rebellion.

Jose Maria Lopez, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for me and I’m looking forward to the challenge of Formula E in season four with DRAGON."

"I have good experience from season three, and I’m confident that we can achieve strong results as the season progresses.”

Jay Penske, Team Principal and Team Owner at DRAGON, said: “Jose is a world champion racer who has consistently performed at the highest level in each formula in which he has competed."

"I’m confident that his season three experience and collaboration with Jerome will be a winning formula for the DRAGON organisation.”