Bortolotti retakes Formula 2 points lead with Spa win
Mirko Bortolotti launched himself back into the Formula 2 championship lead with a dominant performance in race two at Spa
Starting from third, Bortolotti was part of a three-way fight as the field ran down to La Source for the first time. The Italian held the inside line, and emerged in the lead heading for Eau Rouge.
From there Bortolotti assumed full control of the race, gradually extending his lead as the race wore on to eventually finish 4.8 seconds ahead of Christopher Zanella in second. His haul of 25 points promotes him five above Zanella and into the overall points lead.
"An unbelievable race, just amazing," Bortolotti enthused. "We showed good pace in the wet and the dry, so it's a great win and I'm very happy."
Bortolotti's task was made slightly easier as the race's front-row starters Will Bratt and Ramon Pineiro lost out at the start, Bratt falling to fifth and Pineiro to the back of the field after a self-inflicted spin.
Tobias Hegewald then took up the mantle of hunting down Bortolotti, only to spin out on the entry to Les Combes on lap seven.
That promoted Bratt back into third, and he hung on to clinch the final podium spot despite race-long pressure from Miki Monras in fourth.
Bratt defended well from the Spaniard, but his cause was aided by yellow flags for separate accidents at Les Combes, which twice prevented Monras from attempting a pass down the Kemmel straight when he had the momentum to do so.
Behind them, Mihai Marinescu sealed fifth with a late pass on Jack Clarke as the pair approached Les Combes for the 12th time.
Alex Brundle likewise sealed seventh after finding a way past 17-year-old Jordan King at Rivage with just two laps of the race remaining.
Kelvin Snoeks and Thiemo Storz rounded out the top 10, while behind them Pineiro provided entertainment as he fought his way back to 12th at the flag.
Results - 17 laps: Pos Driver Time/Gap 1. Mirko Bortolotti 37m32.494s 2. Christopher Zanella + 4.806s 3. Will Bratt + 6.760s 4. Miki Monras + 7.907s 5. Mihai Marinescu + 16.650s 6. Jack Clarke + 20.151s 7. Alex Brundle + 31.257s 8. Jordan King + 34.959s 9. Kelvin Snoeks + 44.198s 10. Thiemo Storz + 47.516s 11. Jose Luis Abadin + 49.632s 12. Ramon Pineiro + 56.670s 13. Maxim Snegirev + 1m02.199s 14. Mikkel Mac + 1m10.475s 15. Julian Theobald + 1m11.429s 16. James Cole + 1m21.459s 17. Sunghak Mun + 1m24.192s 18. Plamen Kralev + 1m32.777s 19. Parthiva Sureshwaren + 1m38.517s 20. Armaan Ebrahim + 2 laps Retirements: Johannes Theobald 11 laps Tobias Hegewald 6 laps Benjamin Lariche 3 laps
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