Jani, however, showed no sign of backing off, diving down the inside of Servia in turn one on lap 34 to claim the lead. The two Europeans still held sway over Tracy, with Tagliani replacing Rahal in fourth, ahead of Will Power and Bourdais, who had swapped possession of sixth on lap six. Tristan Gommendy, Simon Pagenaud, Bruno Junqueira, Dominguez, Heylen, Doornbos and Figge completed those on the lead lap, while Wilson had rejoined by 20+ laps off the pace.
Tracy was the first to buckle under the need to refuel, coming in from third on lap 38. The leader, one of the early season's worst conservers of fuel, held out for another three tours, with the Power/Bourdais battle finally succumbing last of all, another lap on. The outcome was that Doornbos moved into P1, leading Dominguez on account of their alternative strategy, with the rest of the field slotting in behind, order relatively unchanged. Among the losers, however, was Rahal, whose attempts to save fuel were negated when he stalled at his stop, and Tagliani, the pair dropping to 13th and tenth respectively.
While Dominguez pitted just five laps later, the result of suspension damage rather than a need for fuel, Doornbos made full use of his lighter load by lapping anything up to a second faster than Jani and co behind him. The Dutchman knew that he needed to put as much daylight as possible between and his fellow
Red Bull runner before making his stop - which eventually came on lap 53 - and had the hammer down. The ploy worked almost to perfection as the Minardi crew turned him around in quick time, allowing the #14 car to return to the fray between Servia and Tracy.
