Aragon Formula Renault 3.5: Lotus' Vaxiviere snatches last-lap win

The Frenchman hunted down pole-sitter Nyck de Vries over the closing laps, and waited until the final tour before driving around the outside of the McLaren protege at the Turn 16 hairpin.

Having lost the inside line to Vaxiviere for the following right hander, de Vries committed a swerve into his rival on the exit of the corner.

The Dutch driver lost momentum after the contact, and conceded a three-and-a-half-second deficit to Vaxiviere at the flag.

"It was really hard catching Nyck as the track was drying," said Matthieu. "I am grateful to the team for giving me such a quick pitstop, as I was able to close up about one second.

"We didn't break the car [in the contact] so it's OK, I think it was a nice move."

De Vries was cleared by officials of any wrongdoing.

"On the second to last lap I just managed to keep him behind me," said de Vries.

"But on the last lap he managed to get me on the last corner, so fair play to him. I feel really lucky to finish the race, as the steering wheel was almost vertical in the monocoque."

Saturday's winner, Oliver Rowland survived a minor off-track excursion at Turn 5 on the opening lap to complete the podium and lead the standings ahead of Vaxiviere and de Vries.

Strakka Racing's Tio Ellinas bounced back from a first-lap retirement in race one to pick up fourth on Sunday, ahead of GP2 refugee Tom Dillmann.

Vaxiviere's Lotus team-mate Meindert van Buuren executed a last-lap pass of his own to snatch sixth from Red Bull junior Dean Stoneman, who post-race received a 25 second penalty for speeding in the pitlane and dropped to 13th.

A prolonged downfall prior to the commencement of the weekend's second race prompted officials to opt for a safety car start.

Intensifying rain, blowing at a 45-degree angle along the pit straight, and falling visibility led to a stoppage after just five laps.

Trailing the safety car, de Vries led the field into the pitlane while the race was suspended.

Preparing for the restart, de Vries bunched up the pack at the hairpin and Arden racer Egor Orudzhez was caught out by the action, steering off the road to avoid a shunt, but was able to continue.

Pietro Fantin encountered dramas as the race went green on lap seven, dropping from fifth to 10th.

Up front, de Vries swiftly built a four-second lead over Vaxiviere, as Fortec pair Rowland and Jazeman Jaafar occupied third and fourth, similarly spread out.

Rowland came in to complete his mandatory tyre change on lap 12. Despite the drying circuit, all drivers opted to continue on wet tyres at the stops.

The leaders pitted one lap later, and the over the final four laps, Vaxiviere edged up to Vaxiviere's gearbox before executing his bravura pass.

RESULTS - 19 LAPS:

DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP: