Pantano wins, Hamilton close to title
Giorgio Pantano took a superb home win in the GP2 feature race in Monza, but it was the battle for second between Lewis Hamilton and Nelson Piquet Jr that drew all the attention
Piquet won the duel, but Hamilton's third place all but guarantees him the title. He now leads by six points, with only seven up for grabs.
Pantano made the better start from pole, but Piquet braked later. However, the Brazilian was forced to cut the chicane and he slotted back into second.
The top three remained in that order until the safety car was brought out after Adam Carroll's Racing Engineering car shed a wheel on the exit of Ascari.
All three leaders pitted instantly and resumed in the same order, but with backmarkers between Piquet and Hamilton.
Again, Piquet was forced to cut the chicane after locking his brakes at the restart and Pantano was left clear for a great win.
Once Hamilton cleared the tail-enders, he closed on Piquet but never got close enough for the pass.
The chasing pack then became bunched up behind Fairuz Fauzy, and the three abreast action that ensued was bound to end in tears.
Timo Glock, Adrian Valles and Jose Maria Lopez collided, while Luca Filippi used all his local knowledge to nip into fourth.
Alex Premat bagged fifth, which, coupled with Glock's retirement, ensured he finishes third in the standings.
Sixth went to Nicolas Lapierre after Franck Perera retired on the last lap. Seventh went to Clivio Piccione for a rare DPR point, while eighth and the sprint race pole fell to Hiro Yoshimoto.
CLASSIFIED:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Pantano FMS International 51:31.171
2. Piquet Jr. Piquet Sports + 5.054
3. Hamilton ART Grand Prix + 6.887
4. Filippi BCN Competicion + 28.630
5. Premat ART Grand Prix + 32.882
6. Lapierre Arden International Ltd + 39.285
7. Piccione DPR + 40.656
8. Yoshimoto BCN Competicion + 43.361
9. Villa Racing Engineering + 57.004
10. Di Grassi Durango + 87.040
11. Tahinci FMS International + 1 Lap
12. Ammermueller Arden International Ltd + 1 Lap
13. Hernandez Durango + 1 Lap
14. Fauzy Super Nova International + 1 Lap
15. Perera DAMS + 2 Laps
NOT CLASSIFIED:
Driver Team Laps
Lopez Super Nova International 19
Petrov DPR 18
Glock iSport International 17
Valles Campos Racing 17
Bruni Trident Racing 15
Monfardini DAMS 15
Carroll Racing Engineering 10
Porteiro Campos Racing 8
Viso iSport International 0
Negrao Piquet Sports 0
Zuber Trident Racing 0
Fastest lap: Pantano, 1:30.976 on lap 32
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