Leimer wins first IFM race at Pau

The Swiss driver started from pole position but had to fend off an attack from fellow front row starter Josef Kral into Turn 1.

Kral pulled ahead of Leimer on the outside but snatched a brake on the way into the corner and slid into the tyre wall.

That left Leimer to claim an uncontested victory as he charged away from the chasing pack and built a 15-second lead by the end of the 37-lap race.

"It was really close at the start with Kral, he nearly overtook me," said Leimer. "After that it wasn't so difficult for me because there was nobody close so I could drive my own race."

Vladimir Arabadzhiev and Pal Varhaug completed the podium, each maintaining their positions after inheriting one spot from Kral at the first corner.

Alessandro Kouzkin finished fourth after pursuing Jonathan Kennard for the entire race and demoting the Briton on the final lap. Latvian Harald Schlegelmilch completed the top six.

Pos Driver                Team              Gap
 1. Fabio Leimer          Jenzer      45m41.898
 2. Vladimir Arabadjiev   JD            +15.891
 3. Pal Varhaug           Jenzer        +20.880
 4. Alessandro Kouzkin    Cram          +36.812
 5. Jonathan Kennard      JVA           +37.988
 6. Harald Schlegelmilch  Cram          +44.845
 7. Frankie Provenzano    Trident       +51.096
 8. Dennis Retera         AR          +1m01.208
 9. Duncan Tappy          JVA         +1m12.238
10. Alexander Rossi       Hitech         +1 lap
11. Earl Bamber           ADM            +1 lap

Retirements

    Marcello Puglisi      ADM           25 laps
    Kasper Andersen       Hitech        21 laps
    Simon Trummer         Iris          21 laps
    Sergei Afanasiev      JD            17 laps
    Kelvin Snoeks         AR             8 laps
    Patrick Reiterer      Iris           5 laps
    Josef Kral            JD             0 laps


Fastest lap, Leimer 1:12.628