Karthikeyan wins as crash stops race
Narain Karthikeyan won the second Superleague Formula race at Brands Hatch for PSV Eindhoven, but the event was marred by a huge accident for Chris van der Drift that meant it was curtailed prematurely
Following his early exit from race one, Karthikeyan not only started from pole but had the luxury of two sets of fresh tyres. He nailed the start as soon as he could, and pulled out a seven-second lead before his mandatory pitstop.
Despite a leisurely stop, due to a sticking right-rear wheelnut, he rejoined still well clear of Julien Jousse (Roma). He would eventually win by over 12s, as Jousse dropped back, as he suffered a lack of grip from his tyres.
Jousse fell to fifth, and Chris van der Drift (Olympiacos) was right on his tail as they entered the Grand Prix loop for the 30th lap. On the run towards Hawthorns, van der Drift used his push-to-pass button, and went over the back of Jousse, hitting his right-rear wheel which sent him into a massive airbourne accident that stopped the race. His car ended up in the middle of the track on its side, causing some major avoiding action by the gaggle of cars behind him.
Davide Rigon finished second for Anderlecht, ahead of Duncan Tappy - on the podium again for Flamengo - and Alvaro Parente (Porto). Jousse was classified sixth, ahead of van der Drift.
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap 1. Narain Karthikeyan PSV Eindhoven 36m47.240s 2. Davide Rigon RSC Anderlecht + 12.736s 3. Duncan Tappy Flamengo + 17.948s 4. Alvaro Parente FC Porto + 20.842s 5. Julien Jousse AS Roma + 21.661s 6. Chris van der Drift Olympiacos + 21.921s 7. Maria de Villota Atletico de Madrid + 27.021s 8. Marcos Martinez Sevilla FC + 31.135s 9. Franck Perera Olympique Lyonnais + 31.762s 10. James Walker Liverpool FC + 32.586s 11. Max Wissel FC Basel + 33.372s 12. Yelmer Buurman AC Milan + 34.282s 13. Craig Dolby Tottenham Hotspur + 34.403s 14. Franck Montagny Girondins de Bordeaux + 35.149s 15. Andy Soucek Sporting Clube + 37.016s 16. John Martin Beijing Guoan + 1m10.379s Retirements: Tristan Gommendy Galatasaray 20 laps Robert Doornbos Corinthians 12 laps
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