Quaife-Hobbs completes perfect Auto GP weekend at Algarve with victory in race two
Auto GP championship leader Adrian Quaife-Hobbs completed the perfect meeting at the Algarve, becoming the first driver to claim a double victory in an Auto GP meeting and setting a new record of five wins in a season
From eighth on the reversed grid, the Super Nova racer gained added satisfaction from achieving all his passing manoeuvres on-track. The GP3 graduate's title chances were boosted further after Pal Varhaug, Quaife-Hobbs' closest rival in the drivers' standings, retired following an opening lap collision.
The Virtuosi UK driver was tagged into a spin by Formula Abarth champion Sergey Sirotkin and was unable to restart from the incident.
Euronova Racing's Sirotkin recovered from the early delay to briefly hound pole-sitter Chris van der Drift for second place. Sirotkin dropped back in the closing laps as he struggled on used soft compound Kumhos, and was 1.4s adrift of the Kiwi at the chequered flag.
Van der Drift's chances of adding to his Marrakech victory were dented by two early appearances of the safety car - the first to deal with Varhaug's stricken machine, and the second on lap four following a collision between debutant Juan Carlos Sistos (Zele Racing) and Quaife-Hobbs' Super Nova team-mate Victor Guerin.
Manor MP Motorsport driver van der Drift was the only driver to start on new soft tyres, but had little option other than to pit earlier than planned during the safety-car period to make his mandatory tyre change onto used soft fronts.
Italian Formula 3 champion Sergio Campana produced a more competitive showing than during Saturday's opening race, where he was affected by ride-height dramas. He overtook the second Manor MP Motorsport entry of early leader Daniel de Jong on lap 12 to secure fourth place.
Campos Racing's Facu Regalia, engineered by ex-Formula 1 engineer Gabriele Tredozi for the first time this season, completed the top six.
Quaife-Hobbs leads the drivers' standings on 196 points, 73 ahead of Varhaug. There are 98 points still on offer over the final two meetings of the season in Brazil and the United States.
Results - 18 laps: Pos Driver Team Time/Gap 1. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Super Nova 31m19.348s 2. Chris van der Drift Manor MP + 5.451s 3. Sergey Sirotkin Euronova + 6.921s 4. Sergio Campana MLR 71 + 12.555s 5. Facu Regalia Campos + 16.861s 6. Giancarlo Serenelli Ombra + 20.147s 7. Daniel de Jong Manor MP + 22.012s 8. Maxim Snegirev Campos + 23.482s 9. Antonio Spavone Euronova + 23.910s 10. Francesco Dracone Virtuosi UK + 24.750s 11. Michele la Rosa MLR 71 + 39.844s Retirements: Sten Pentus Zele 8 laps Juan Carlos Sistos Zele 4 laps Victor Guerin Super Nova 3 laps Pal Varhaug Virtuosi UK 0 laps Giuseppe Cipriani Campos 0 laps
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