Roberto Colciago and Attila Tassi finished first and second, ending in glory a weekend that had started in the worst way for M1RA and Honda after Tassi’s crash in Friday’s free practice.
While Colciago dashed from pole position and escaped on the way to his third victory of the season, Tassi made a great start as well, jumping to fourth; then he was able to overtake James Nash and Gianni Morbidelli to grab the second position that he defended until the end despite pressure from Stefano Comini.
The winner of Race 1 Dušan Borkovićended up in the gravel – maybe due to a broken driveshaft – and so did Pepe Oriola, while a few other drivers (Kajaia, Demoustier, Bettera) had flat tyres because of debris on the track.
Thomas Jäger encored his fourth place and Jens Reno Møller scored again; Gianni Morbidelli was classified fifth, the best result for him and WestCoast Racing so far.
Today’s results have shaken the standings, with Jean-Karl Vernay dropped to third, 12 points behind Comini and nine behind Colciago.
The series will resume next week at Budapest’s Hungaroring for rounds 11 and 12.
Key facts
Grid – Both the Leopard Racing Volkswagen cars of Vernay and Huff are missing after their shunts in Race 1; Paulsen starts from the pit lane, Vesnić doesn’t start as a rear wheel was locked after his Race 1 incident
Start – Colciago sprints from the pole, Morbidelli struggles to keep second place
Lap 1 – Tassi overtakes Nash for third
Lap 2 – Tassi and Morbidelli make contact and swap positions a couple of times; Paulsen pits and rejoins
Lap 3 – Tassi overtakes Morbidelli for second
Lap 4 – Morbidelli drops to fifth behind Comini and Oriola
Lap 5 – Kajaia and Jäger make contact while fighting for 8th position; the both overtake Homola for 7th and 8th
Lap 6 – Borković goes off into the gravel trap a Turn 9; Paulsen pits again
Lap 9 – Tassi’s second place is under attacks from Comini and Oriola; Morbidelli, Nash and Jäger fight for 5th position; Bettera and Ende pit with flat tyres, only the Italian rejoins
Lap 10 – Jäger overtakes Nash for 6th
Lap 11 – Jäger overtakes Morbidelli for 5th; Oriola spins off into the grave trap at T9, the safety car is deployed; Demoustier pits with a flat tyre
Lap 12 – Vervisch pits with oil pressure problems
Lap 15 – The race resumes; Kajaia pits and rejoins; Homola takes the --- at the first chicane and drops to 10th
Lap 17 – Colciago wins from Tassi; Comini retains second place despite the pressure from Jäger
