Valencia 1: First win to Zonta

The ex-FIA GT champion overcame poleman Franck Montagny and his fellow front row starter Rafael Sarandeses to make a small slice of history as the first winner of the Dallara-Nissan series.

Montagny made a poor start from pole, allowing Sarandeses to lead at the first corner. But the Spaniard's moment of glory didn't last long, as Montagny shot down the inside of Turn 2 to wrest back the lead.

Zonta was next in line to pressure Sarandeses, but his progress was interrupted by the Safety Car, brought out for a multiple collision which was sparked when fifth-placed Narain Karthikeyan drove into the gravel at Turn 11 and Ander Vilarino simultaneously launched a ridiculously optimistic attack on Justin Wilson, causing both to spin.

To top that, Vilarino selected first gear and attempted to rejoin, despite the fact that Andre Couto was driving past him at the time. The resulting collision sent Couto high into the air and the front suspension of his car is wrecked beyond immediate repair. Wilson was also out of the race, his rear wheels stuck in the gravel.

At the restart, Zonta toughed it out with a defiant Sarandeses on the run to the first corner and got ahead after a brush of wheels between them. He then closed the gap to Montagny, who appeared to be running less downforce and was quicker on the straights.

Montagny then hit gearbox problems at the hairpin and was forced to exit in fourth gear, allowing Zonta to sweep past at the following kink and take an unchallenged victory. The Frenchman struggled from there on, but managed to keep Sarandeses and Bas Leinders behind him.

Nicolas Filiberti benefited the most from the early carnage to finish fifth, ahead of Antonio Garcia and Luciano Gomide. Irishman Damien Faulkner was one of the fastest men on the track in the latter stages, and just missed out on a point in 11th.


Ricardo Zonta, Gabord Competicion, 17 laps
Franck Montagny, Racing Engineering, +6.092s
Rafael Sarandeses, 7UP GD Racing, +6.735s
Bas Leinders, KTR, +7.960s
Nicolas Filiberti, Zele Motorsport, +11.384s
Antonio Garcia, Adrian Campos Motorsport, +14.685s
Luciano Gomide, KTR, +20.903s
Jean-Christophe Ravier, Epsilon by Graff, +22.399s
Felix Porteiro, Vergani Racing, +27.168s
Narain Karthikeyan, Tata RC Motorsport, +27.554s