With the typically chaotic first lap completed, the race settled into a relative procession, with only Mortara seemingly threatening a change of position as he tailed Kunimoto.

Indeed, while the Japanese driver made a brief sprint after the restart, Mortara quickly reeled him in and after latching onto his slipstream at the start of lap seven, the strength of the Volkswagen engine simply propelled him past Kunimoto and into the lead heading down to Lisboa.

Mortara needed no invitation to make his bid for victory as he quickly moved away from Kunimoto, who in turn was under pressure from Streit now.

Nonetheless, the top three remained unchanged to the chequered flag, Mortara easing up towards the end to win by just over a second and secure what could be an all-important pole position for the Grand Prix tomorrow. As well as winning for Volkswagen, Mortara is bidding to become the first Italian to win the classic race since Enrico Bertaggia 20 years ago.

Kunimoto and Streit ensured that three different engine manufacturers would be represented on the podium, while Turvey, Bird and Alguersuari followed in fourth, fifth and sixth places.

Coletti, meanwhile, enjoyed a strong performance in seventh for Prema Powerteam, ahead of one of the race's youngest competitors Ericsson. Daniel Campos-Hull and Kei Cozzolino completed the leading positions, although their cause was aided on the final lap when Maki limped across the line minus a tyre.

Elsewhere, Hartley rejoined the race to record the fastest lap, while James Winslow and Jon Lancaster flew the flag for Great Britain in 11th and 14th positions respectively.