From start to finish, the outcome of the second World Series by Renault race at Valencia's Circuit Ricardo Tormo remained in the balance, with a series of potential winners falling by the wayside with the chequered flag in sight.
After a perfect start, poleman Andreas Zuber’s chances were ruined when the safety car was brought out. Then points leader
Robert Kubica appeared to have wrapped up the victory, but was forced to abandon due to an electrical problem. All of which left KTR's Tristan Gommendy in the right place at the right time to record his first win of the season, ahead of Adrian Valles (Pons Racing) and Eric Salignon (Cram Compétition).
Starting on the front row, Markus Winkelhock was left on the starting grid, and was fortunate that all those behind the Draco car managed to avoid running in it. That, however, was only the precursor to a hectic first two laps, which were punctuated by a series of incidents. First, Ryo Fukuda ran his car across into the gravel on the opening corner, then Milos Pavlovic went off. Where Fukuda had managed to rejoin, however, the Yugoslav was not so lucky. Enrico Toccacelo was spotted heading for the pits, while Victory team-mate Tomas Kostka clashed with Jaap van Lagen, Daniel la Rosa flirted with the gravel and first race winner Felix Porteiro spun and hit the barriers...
Gommendy and Colin Fleming, meanwhile, were scrapping out a fierce duel in Zuber's wake, the poleman having escaped the mayhem behind him. Eric Salignon and Kubica were also ahead of the Franco-American battle, but the order was quickly reshuffled as, from the fifth lap onwards, several drivers decided to come in for their mandatory pit-stop.
