Monza GP3: Kirchhofer inherits win, Ghiotto goes from back to third
Marvin Kirchhofer inherited victory from Jimmy Eriksson in a dramatic Monza GP3 race in which championship leader Luca Ghiotto flew from the back to third behind title rival Esteban Ocon
Koiranen GP driver Eriksson, who started fifth, had a great start to move up to third by the end of the opening lap.
He was then gifted second place when Matheo Tuscher ran wide going for the lead at the Lesmos.
By lap three he was able to take the lead on the inside of polesitter Alex Fontana into the first chicane.
The Swedish driver controlled the majority of the race, maintaining the gap to nearest challenger Kirchhofer around the two second mark.
Disaster struck on the penultimate lap, though. Eriksson began to slow with problems, gifting the lead to Kirchhofer, and he limped across the line in fourth before stopping at the end of the pitlane.
Mercedes protege Ocon held on to second place in an ART Grand Prix one-two despite a late surge from Trident rival Ghiotto.
The points leader started on the penultimate row of the grid having stalled on pole in Saturday's race but was able to carve his way into the podium positions by passing Kevin Ceccon at the Roggia chicane.
Jenzer Motorsport team-mates Tuscher and Ralph Boschung both enjoyed frenetic battles.
Tuscher had been as high as second but following his off at the Lesmos he continued to fall down the order to sixth, with Boschung close behind in seventh.
Status Grand Prix's Sandy Stuvik triumphed in a three way scrap for eighth, edging out Mitch Gilbert and front row starter Alex Palou, who spun on the way to the grid.
Race one winner Emil Bernstorff retired midway through the race after contact with Status driver Fontana.
The pair were side by side heading into the first chicane, before Bernstorff was sent briefly airborne as he was forced over the kerb in the middle of the corner.
Fontana was handed a 10-second time penalty for the incident.
Matt Parry and Seb Morris, who were both excluded from Saturday's race after scrutineers deemed their cars to be underweight, retired early on.
RESULTS - 16 LAPS:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marvin Kirchhofer | ART Grand Prix | 26m50.969s |
| 2 | Esteban Ocon | ART Grand Prix | 1.211s |
| 3 | Luca Ghiotto | Trident | 1.459s |
| 4 | Kevin Ceccon | Arden International | 2.041s |
| 5 | Jimmy Eriksson | Koiranen GP | 6.759s |
| 6 | Matheo Tuscher | Jenzer Motorsport | 11.718s |
| 7 | Ralph Boschung | Jenzer Motorsport | 13.418s |
| 8 | Sandy Stuvik | Status Grand Prix | 15.754s |
| 9 | Mitch Gilbert | Carlin | 17.303s |
| 10 | Alex Palou | Campos Racing | 17.794s |
| 11 | Antonio Fuoco | Carlin | 18.069s |
| 12 | Amaury Bonduel | Trident | 19.512s |
| 13 | Brandon Maisano | Campos Racing | 20.484s |
| 14 | Pal Varhaug | Jenzer Motorsport | 20.571s |
| 15 | Zaid Ashkanani | Campos Racing | 21.748s |
| 16 | Alex Fontana | Status Grand Prix | 25.399s |
| - | Emil Bernstorff | Arden International | Retirement |
| - | Artur Janosz | Trident | Retirement |
| - | Seb Morris | Status Grand Prix | Retirement |
| - | Matt Parry | Koiranen GP | Retirement |
| - | Alex Bosak | Arden International | Retirement |
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luca Ghiotto | 170 |
| 2 | Esteban Ocon | 156 |
| 3 | Marvin Kirchhofer | 140 |
| 4 | Emil Bernstorff | 127 |
| 5 | Kevin Ceccon | 77 |
| 6 | Jimmy Eriksson | 66 |
| 7 | Antonio Fuoco | 46 |
| 8 | Matt Parry | 43 |
| 9 | Jann Mardenborough | 32 |
| 10 | Ralph Boschung | 27 |
| 11 | Matheo Tuscher | 22 |
| 12 | Alfonso Celis | 19 |
| 13 | Alex Palou | 18 |
| 14 | Oscar Tunjo | 17 |
| 15 | Alex Fontana | 16 |
| 16 | Sandy Stuvik | 7 |
| 17 | Seb Morris | 6 |
| 18 | Artur Janosz | 4 |
| 19 | Pal Varhaug | 4 |
| 20 | Alex Bosak | 4 |
| 21 | Mitch Gilbert | 1 |
| 22 | Adderly Fong | 0 |
| 23 | Zaid Ashkanani | 0 |
| 24 | Brandon Maisano | 0 |
| 25 | Amaury Bonduel | 0 |
| 26 | Beitske Visser | 0 |
| 27 | Samin Gomez | 0 |
| 28 | Christopher Hoher | 0 |
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