The yellows were withdrawn two laps later, and Jan Heylen was immediately on the move, regaining the place he lost to Will Power at the start. The Australian’s plight worsened next time around as Dan Clarke also found a way past the yellow-and-green machine, while Junqueira passed Coyne team-mate Katherine Legge at the same time.
The Brazilian’s attempts to move up the order were to be stymied shortly afterwards, however, as he was forced into the pits with a flat right front tyre. The problem, under green flag conditions, threw Junqueira into an alternative strategy that would have him at odds with majority of the field, and yo-yo’ing up and down the order until the closing stages.
Undeterred by being passed by the Brazilian, Legge set the fastest lap of the race on lap nine and improved on it next time around. It was the high point of the race for the Briton, however, for, having acquired a top ten place by avoiding the Tracy incident, she gradually slipped backwards thanks to a combination of tardy pit-stops and an on-track clash with Dalziel.
She also lost her status as fastest driver on track when Junqueira resumed and promptly stole the best lap time, and the Brazilian was to be elevated to the lead when the field got its next chance to top off with fuel and change tyres when a yellow was thrown for debris in turn ten on lap 14.
Junqueira was the only driver not to stop under the caution, and was not involved in the race to exit the pits. Wilson held on to his advantage by narrowly edging Jani to the exit, while the Swiss’ PKV team-mate, Gommendy, came close to contact with Rahal as they exited side-by-side.
