Di Resta dominates Zandvoort 1

Di Resta (ASM) made a stellar start from pole, almost matched by third-fastest qualifier Giedo van der Garde (ASM), who grabbed second from front row starter Sebastien Buemi (Mucke Motorsport) on the run to Tarzan. Sebastian Vettel (ASM) then made an over-ambitious lunge around the outside of Buemi at the first corner, but locked up and skittered into the gravel trap, rejoining outside the top 20.

That mistake put the top four in Ultimate Masters finishing order, namely di Resta leading van der Garde, Buemi and Kohei Hirate (Manor Motorsport). Further back, Romain Grosjean (Signature) got in on the act and pulled off a rare passing move on Kamui Kobayashi (ASM) at the Audi chicane, to complete the Masters top five.

This was ruined, however, when Buemi spun off into the Mastersbocht gravel, probably as a result of clipping dirt on the track from a spinning backmarker a lap previously. He spent the remainder of the race in tears at the side of the track.

Di Resta and van der Garde were closely matched until the latter tripped over a backmarker, allowing Hirate a run on him into Tarzan on lap 20. Van der Garde locked both front tyres in his efforts to stay ahead, which he did by just half a second at the conclusion of the race. Di Resta was 1.7 seconds up the road, however, and took a huge step closer to the title thanks to his win and Vettel's non-score.

Kobayashi finished fifth, ahead of Jonathan Summerton (Mucke), Guillame Moreau (Signature) and Esteban Guerrieri (Manor) who inherited the vital eighth place, thanks to Buemi's exit, that promises pole position for Sunday's reverse grid event.

Vettel's recovery was impressive while it lasted, although it stalled somewhat when he became stuck behind the obstinate Richard Antinucci (HBR) who shoved him into the Tarzan gravel again when Vettel tried an ambitious round-the-outside move.

Having got past Antinucci, and up to 14th place, Vettel joined fellow Red Bull Junior Buemi in the gravel, this time at the final corner. He didn't cry about it, though.

CLASSIFIED:

Pos  Driver                Make                      Time
 1.  Paul di Resta         ASM Formule 3             41:05.497
 2.  Giedo van der Garde   ASM Formule 3             +   1.770
 3.  Kohei Hirate          Manor Motorsport          +   2.351
 4.  Romain Grosjean       Signature-Plus            +   2.875
 5.  Kamui Kobayashi       ASM Formule 3             +   4.425
 6.  Jonathan Summerton    ASL Mucke Motorsport      +   5.936
 7.  Guillaume Moreau      Signature-Plus            +   7.232
 8.  Esteban Guerrieri     Manor Motorsport          +   9.286
 9.  Michael Herck         Bas Leinders JRT          +  16.565
10.  Peter Elkmann         Jo Zeller Racing          +  18.010
11.  Charlie Kimball       Signature-Plus            +  18.641
12.  Alejandro Nunez       Prema Powerteam           +  33.696
13.  Tim Sandtler          Signature-Plus            +  34.153
14.  Richard Antinucci     HBR Motorsport            +  34.672
15.  Filip Salaquarda      Team ISR                  +  45.094
16.  Recardo Bruins        Van Amersfoort Racing     +  46.811
17.  Paolo Nocera          Prema Powerteam           +1:15.322
18.  Bruno Rudolf Fechner  SMS Seyffarth Motorsport  +  1 lap
19.  Julian Theobald       SMS Seyffarth Motorsport  +  1 lap
20.  Cemil Cipa            HBR Motorsport            +  1 lap
21.  Anthony Janiec        Janiec Racing Team        +  1 lap
22.  Kazuki Nakajima       Manor Motorsport          +  1 lap
23.  Ronayne O'Mahony      Prema Powerteam           +  3 laps
24.  Sebastian Vettel      ASM Formule 3             +  7 laps

NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS:

     Driver                Make                      On Lap
     Sebastien Buemi       ASL Mucke Motorsport        18
     Dominick Muermans     Van Amersfoort Racing        3

Fastest Lap: Kazuki Nakajima, 1:33.241 on lap 18