Wickens managed to get the better of Carbone at the beginning of the start-finish straight on lap seven, but the Brazilian attempted to hit back immediately. However, his efforts to get back past the Canadian resulted in contact with the Carlin car's left rear wheel, sending it into a spin. Not long afterwards, Carbone was involved again, this time with Jousse, although the Frenchman appeared to be to blame as he locked up at the opening chicane and slid sideways into the Ultimate Signature car.
“Starting from row six, it wasn't easy, especially when I came up against Fabio Carbone," Jousse said later, "We had a coming-together when I tried to get past, and I was lucky that my car wasn't damaged in the incident.”
At the front, di Sabatino and van der Garde were now neck-and-neck and, between Carbone incidents, the Dutchman decided it was time to attack. Heading into the opening chicane, he made his move and, although di Sabatino held his own, his approach to the second chicane was compromised and van der Garde was able to sweep around the outside and into the lead.
By the mid-point, the P1 Motorsport driver was dominating, opening up a gap over di Sabatino, Sanchez and Jousse who, having survived his clash with Carbone, used every ounce of his experience to find a way past his young Mexican opponent. Meanwhile, Tech 1 team-mate Pic and KTR's Guillaume Moreau - who had started from the back row - were involved in a heated battle for eighth place, with the second year driver appearing to have the upper hand.
Despite its frenetic start, the race settled down over its second half, and the order remained unchanged, allowing van der Garde to claim his first win in the category. The Dutchman, who has been class of the field to this point of the weekend, finished some five seconds ahead of di Sabatino and nine clear of Jousse.
![Giedo van der Garde - P1 Motorsport [pic credit: Renault Sport Media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/432017.jpg)
