Burti defeats Hynes at Spa

The duo were battling for second place behind pole position man Jenson Button when they touched at Eau Rouge, causing those behind to back off in avoidance.

Button looked set for his third win of the season, but his progress was halted at the end of the opening lap when the safety car emerged because of a big startline shunt.

Matt Davies had stalled his car, and in the confusion and ensuing accident Tor Sriachavanon was briefly knocked unconscious.

The Thai was extracted from his Manor Motorsport Dallara and taken to hospital in nearby Verviers for a precautionary check-up.

At the restart, Button's Promatecme Dallara-Renault twitched sideways through Eau Rouge, enabling Burti and Hynes to get a run on him and relegate him to third by the end of the long straight.

Low tyre pressures were blamed.

'I can't see I could have warmed my tyres up any more,' said the 19-year-old, who was crowned Rookie of the Year today.

'I went through Eau Rouge, hit the ground and the car bottomed. The car went sideways and I had to lift and they both went by.'

There was further bad news for Button, when team-mate Aluizio Coelho passed him shortly afterwards.
According to the Britain, the Brazilian got by under yellow flags.

Burti, meanwhile, held the gap constant to Hynes to the finish to close the gap in the championship to two points.

'After I'd passed Jenson it was pretty straightforward. Marc was quicker in a straight line and better at the Bus Stop and the La Source hairpin, but it was just a case of concentrating.

'It's really a case that the championship is starting today - there are just two races left and it's down to me and Marc.'

Kolby managed to vault to third with an opportunist drive.

Coelho made a mistake at the Bus Stop chicane, allowing Button back ahead.

Then Kolby nipped past the Brazilian at La Source, got a great run down the hill and surged ahead of Button into Eau Rouge.

'It was better than I expected, which was a damaged suspension and no finish,' joked the Dane.

German series leader Christijan Albers had a bad race from fifth on the grid.

His computer was checked on the grid - while that was being done the system got filled with fuel, meaning he was forced to start from the pits two laps down while it was cleared.

Title rival Yves Olivier was left to take sixth from French series drivers Tiago Monteiro and Julien Beltoise, with Andrew Kirkaldy and Toby Scheckter completing the top 10.

A protest from Hynes into Burti's driving at the start was being investigated by the stewards after the race. It is unclear if any action will be taken against the Brazilian.

National Class honours went to Takuma Sato, the Japanese driver doing a great job to become the first man to defeat Martin O'Connell in a straight fight this season.