MW Arden’s Mitch Evans was a happy man celebrating on the podium after pocketing victory in Germany in a race that finished under safety car conditions. The Lotus GP duo of Daniel Abt and Conor Daly joined him on the rostrum.
Sunday morning and the Hockenheim paddock was greeted to glorious sunshine and warm temperatures, very unlike Saturday’s changeable and tricky weather conditions. Reverse pole went to Evans with local fans favourite Abt starting in P2, eager to win his home race.
As the lights went out for the start of Race 2, it was the German driver who made one his trademark lightning getaways to snatch the lead with Evans having to defend from Tamas Pal Kiss. Lotus GP teammate Daly also made a great start jumping from P7 to P4 and he was soon attacking Pal Kiss and managed to find a way through on the Hungarian for third place. Tio Ellinas also made up two places at the start to progress from ninth to P7, whilst Matias Laine got the better of Aaro Vainio to displace his compatriot to sixth.
Further back on lap one there was a dramatic accident involving four drivers, both the Status GP cars of Lewis Williamson and Alice Powell, Vicky Piria and Carlin’s William Buller. Piria’s Trident Racing car was sent skywards which left debris around the circuit. The safety car was deployed to clear away the material, whilst title challenger Antonio Felix Da Costa also had a premature end to his race after stopping at turn one.
The safety car returned to the pits and the race got underway again on lap 8. Evans was keen to make amends and get P1 back from Abt. The MW Arden seized his opportunity once he was in the slipstream and passed the Lotus GP rookie on the inside at the hairpin to reclaim the lead of the race. The action didn’t stop there though with Fabiano Machado running wide a lap later and his Marussia Manor Racing car became airborne which brought a halt to the Brazilian’s race. The safety car was needed and the remaining laps were completed behind the safety car.
Evans took the chequered flag first for the third time this season and for good measure he also set the fastest lap. Abt finished P2, ahead of Daly, Pal Kiss, Matias Laine and Vainio. Tio Ellinas and Giovanni Venturini completed the top 8 and the final points scoring positions.
Evans tops the Drivers Standings with an 18 point advantage over Vainio with three rounds left to race. Abt has now moved up to third and is the highest placed rookie in the Series but the battle has a long way to go with Patric Niederhauser and Daly in close contention, within three points of the German.
Round 6 of the GP3 Series is at the Hungaroring in Budapest, in less than seven days times – don’t miss the action: July 27-29 2012.