RINNEAHO DOMINATES FOR WIN
Tapio Rinneaho picked up a first win of the season in dominating fashion as we start to see a bit more speed out of the race setup cars. Starting from 9th, he was always a chance at the race, but his speed was so strong that it was more a question of whether he'd make the distance rather than would he be caught.
The 35 second gap to Daniel Harvey was perhaps better reading for the DTK driver, he was leading early on but was quickly and efficiently disposed of and never seen again. The result though keeps DTK well and truly at the forefront of the season, as he was able to stay well ahead of the 2KF1 duo of Rui Martins and James McNamara, but although he was around 16 seconds ahead, they were directly behind him in positions, meaning that the Australian team actually pulled back some ground in the Constructors.
Chris Guardian rode his luck and his speed to take an important 5th place for Fantastic, a massive boost to the new team. He just held off the second Falcon of Jordan Bradford, the Brit fighting back from an early setback to come home with huge speed. Tim Engberink continued his form with a second straight points finish, 7th but it could have been better if not for a problem that needed an extra pit. Stephan Bohner ended up in the points after a struggle filled day, same for Manolis Sigoulakis and Rob Sharp.
Hugo Rossello just missed out on points, while Dani Tottos didn't have the same speed as his teammate on his way to 12th. Andrea Dovizioso was one of the best drivers until late mistakes plummeted him down the leaderboard and out of the points to 13th at the flag, the first sucker punch for the Prifelli team. Carlos Rodriguez, Matthew Allington and Damian Son were the final cars moving.
Ben Utzer was riding high in 3rd place before yet another late retirement cost him that position, classified 17th and 3 laps down. Luke Rosella was similar for Prifelli, running well in the points as well before retiring and really completing the tragic race end for the Australian team.
Omer Said and Joseph Wright both had suspension failures, while Nathan Cornes found a wall and shed a wheel. Jack Laskey was the big talking point though, the Brit lost the championship lead as a result of a overzealous defensive move which pushed his car wide into the stricken spun car of Jordan Bradford, ending his race on the spot.
Next round is from the engine-killing Hockenheimring. Yes the original. Marketplace closes 10am Thursday AEDT.