Race 2: Nykjær steals win from Bennani
Michel Nykjaer won an action-packed second race at the Moscow Raceway, chasing early leader Mehdi Bennani and eventually overtaking him to claim his third victory of the season.
Bennani then spun while trying to defend second position under strong pressure from Rob Huff and Yvan Muller. The latter benefited from the contact between Bennani and Huff to collect a second place that means another step towards a possible fourth World Champion crown.
The result of the race was affected by a pile up on lap 3 that eliminated Tom Coronel, Gabriele Tarquini and James Thompson while they were fighting for the third position. This incident is currently being investigated by the Stewards.
Key moments
Start – Bennani takes a perfect start and leads from Nykjaer
Lap 1 – Tarquini and Oriola make contact while fighting for third, Oriola drops to seventh
Lap 2 – Coronel overtakes Thompson for fourth
Lap 3 – Coronel, Tarquini, Thompson, Huff and Muller run abreast on the pit straight; at the braking Coronel’s car swerves to the right and collects Tarquini’s and Thompson’s
Lap 4 – Nykjaer makes a try, but Bennani resists
Lap 6 – Tarquini overtakes Chilton for seventh; D’Aste overtakes O’Young for 10th
Lap 7 – Nykjaer steals the lead from Bennani
Lap 8 – Chilton retakes seventh from Tarquini
Lap 9 – Huff and Muller chase Bennani who rejects their attack
Lap 10 – Bennani, Huff and Muller keep on fighting for second
Lap 11 – Huff and Bennani make contact, the latter spins and Muller moves up to second
Lap 13 – Nykjaer wins from Muller and Huff