Following a consistent run of podiums and points, Lucas di Grassi can finally call himself a GP2 Series winner after triumphing in the Istanbul Park feature race, the Brazilian taking over the lead of the standings in the process after both iSport drivers threw away a chance at victory.
The crucial moment in the race came during an early safety car period when di Grassi chose to pit, but
Timo Glock didn't, the German never being able to recuperate the time needed before he made his pit stop.
The German would have to settle for fourth place, behind Giorgio Pantano in second, while Adam Carroll scored his third straight podium in third position.
However, even then it was the mistake from Andreas Zuber that really played into di Grassi's hands after the Austrian threw away an almost certain win with an unnecessary mistake.
Indeed, Zuber proved to be the driver to beat over the first half of the race when he dived into the lead from third on the grid as both pole sitter Luca Filippi and Glock bogged down, allowing last year's winner to leap into an early advantage.
Filippi's weekend would get no better though when he spun at the chicane and left him with no choice to retire. It signals a fifth straight failure to score for the one time title contender, the Italian now 27 points off the championship lead and almost certainly out of the running.
Filippi was not the only driver to succumb on the opening lap either after a first-turn pile-up involving Adrian Zaugg, Andy Soucek and Mike Conway. Conway and Filippi's retirements would signal a very dismal day for Super Nova.
The safety car was duly called on lap two, prompting the usual flurry of activity in the pit lane, but while the majority of the field took the opportunity to make their mandatory stop, a handful remained on track, most notably Glock, who chose not to queue behind Zuber, duly assuming the lead. His method of trying to build a gap to those behind was repeated by Xandi Negrao, Roldan Rodriguez and Ricardo Risatti.
