Spa GP3: Daniil Kvyat claims first victory in crash-strewn race
Daniil Kvyat scored his first GP3 Series victory in a race at Spa-Francorchamps that was blighted by safety cars
Kvyat outdragged MW Arden team-mate and poleman Carlos Sainz Jr into La Source, and was followed past him by Conor Daly (ART) from fourth.
The race was then almost immediately neutralised for a tail-end shunt at the first corner.
That restart was almost over before it began, as more crashing at La Source brought out the safety car again.
At the third attempt, Kvyat had to fend off an attack from Daly into Les Combes, but kept his American rival well covered. He then pulled out a decent gap, as Daly found it a struggle to follow him closely.
Behind them, Sainz was defending third from Jack Harvey in a battle that all went wrong on the Kemmel Straight on lap 10.
Harvey drew alongside, and moved over to try to intimidate the Spaniard, who stayed resolutely on his line. Contact between them speared Harvey into a spin, the ART car hitting the barrier on his right before cannoning back across the track into another big impact, which tore the back of his car off.
The race finished under the safety car, with Kvyat winning from Daly, new points leader Facu Regalia, Kevin Korjus and Alexander Sims.
Erstwhile series leader Tio Ellinas fought back to eighth, and reversed-grid pole, after stalling at the start due to a throttle problem.
Results - 13 laps: Pos Driver Team Time/Gap 1. Daniil Kvyat MW Arden 32m40.446s 2. Conor Daly ART +0.413s 3. Facu Regalia ART +1.160s 4. Kevin Korjus Koiranen +1.772s 5. Alexander Sims Carlin +4.628s 6. Nick Yelloly Carlin +4.985s 7. Melville McKee Bamboo +5.713s 8. Tio Ellinas Manor +5.978s 9. Robert Visoiu MW Arden +6.869s 10. Dino Zamparelli Manor +7.760s 11. Giovanni Venturini Trident +8.569s 12. Luis Sa Silva Carlin +8.895s 13. Patrick Kujala Koiranen +9.585s 14. Lewis Williamson Bamboo +10.225s 15. David Fumanelli Trident +11.039s 16. Samin Gomez Jenzer +11.640s 17. Jimmy Eriksson Status +12.374s 18. Ryan Cullen Manor +13.052s 19. Carmen Jorda Bamboo +13.560s 20. Alex Fontana Jenzer +15.157s 21. Aaro Vainio Koiranen +15.162s Retirements: Carlos Sainz Jr MW Arden 9 laps Jack Harvey ART 9 laps Patric Niederhauser Jenzer 2 laps Adderly Fong Status 2 laps Josh Webster Status 1 lap Emanuele Zonzini Trident 0 laps
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