John Martin wins second Superleague race at Zolder for Australia
John Martin of Australia won the reversed-grid second race at Zolder in Belgium, round two of the Superleague Formula Nations Cup
Martin took full advantage when Spain/Atletico Madrid's early race leader Andy Soucek stalled during his compulsory pitstop, and his car refused to restart. "It was going very well, the pace was good," said Soucek. "We had good tyres, a new set for the second stint, and I should have won the race. The pitstop went well, but then it stalled like race one. It's very strange, a big disappointment."
Once he'd got the better of a great early battle with Turkey's Duncan Tappy, Martin set some quick times following his pitstop, which was easily enough to overhaul the on-the-road leader, Russia's Mikhail Aleshin, who left his stop late.
Max Wissel (South Korea) crucially battled his way past Tappy just before Aleshin's pitstop, which released him into clear air which guaranteed the pace he needed to take second. But he was 5.3s behind race dominator Martin by the finish.
Frederic Vervisch (Luxembourg) finished fourth, ahead of a close battle between Tappy, Yelmer Buurman (Netherlands/PSV Eindhoven), Robert Doornbos (Japan) and Chris van der Drift (New Zealand). Antonio Pizzonia, who ran second for Brazil early on, was penalised for jumping the start and dropped to 12th after a drive-through penalty.
The big news further back was race one winner Craig Dolby's air pressure system failure, which forced his retirement as he was jammed in gear.
Martin's win means Australia overhauls England, who drop to fifth, at the top of the championship.
Results - 29 laps: Pos Driver Team Time/Gap 1. John Martin Australia 40m33.607s 2. Max Wissel South Korea + 5.383s 3. Mikhail Aleshin Russia + 11.175s 4. Frederic Vervisch Luxembourg + 17.931s 5. Duncan Tappy Turkey/Galatasaray + 21.950s 6. Yelmer Buurman Netherlands/PSV + 22.433s 7. Robert Doornbos Japan + 22.739s 8. Chris van der Drift New Zealand + 22.822s 9. Neel Jani Belgium/Anderlecht + 23.396s 10. Filip Salaquarda Czech/Sparta Praha + 33.967s 11. Tristan Gommendy France/Bordeaux + 38.506s 12. Antonio Pizzonia Brazil + 49.599s Retirements: Craig Dolby England 18 laps Andy Soucek Spain/Madrid 11 laps
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