Dream start for Minardi
Mane Goddard converted pole into a win, teammate Tapio Rinneaho joined him on the podium in 3rd. Between them in 2nd finished Brugman, who seems to have taken a liking for that position.
Off the line Black had the better start, taking the lead from Goddard. A bit further behind Hunsley lost a few places, while Keranen moved up a few. There were a couple of battles going on, amongst a 4 way fight for 4th, but overtaking proved to be difficult. A few laps in the race Said weekend didn't get any better, he retired with a water leak. Laskey and Utzer joined him before the first stops started.
Laad came off worst in that phase, two mistakes before his stop cost him places, after having pitted he found himself well down the order in 15th. Brugman jumped Kederer for 3rd, Keranen climbed up to 3rd, and Lintner with some incredibly fast laps before his stop moved up from 14th to 7th. A bit after the halfway point Black's race came to an end, his suspension collapsed, most likely costing him the win.
Keranen was the first one of the top group to come in for the final stop, but the undercut didn't work out and he dropped to 7th. Engberink stayed out longest, which got him from 7th back up to 4th. Rinneaho could climb up to 3rd, while Kederer dropped to 5th. Sigoulakis also with a late stop, bringing him from 11th close to the points in 9th. With only a few laps left to go, Engberink's Renault engine decided to call it a day, costing him 4th place. This promoted Sigoulakis up to 8th in the final points position.
FIA Press Conference
@Mane Goddard: Perfect start to the season, ready for another go at the title?
@Donaldinho105 @TTupsi: Both of you gained a couple of positions, were pitstops the key for that, seeing that on track overtaking was close to impossible?
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