With pole position and two victories, plus topping both test sessions on Thursday, Giedo van der Garde ensured that his World Series by Renault campaign got off to the best possible start at Monza.
Having come from behind to win on Saturday, the P1 Motorsport driver led race two from start to finish, taking victory ahead of Spaniard Alvaro Barba, while teenager Charles Pic added to his growing reputation by coming home third in only his second race in the category.
van der Garde made the best start from pole position, gaining a little extra advantage as Marco Bonanomi surprised the other front row starter, Robert Wickens, by moving up to second. Further back, however, there was the usual Monza trouble, with third and fourth row starters Fabio Carbone and Bertrand Baguette running off at the Curva Grande, ending miserable weekends for both.
"I am very sad," Baguette said, "This is a negative start to the season, when I should have achieved good results and gained many points. Yesterday, the break and, today, the incident on the first lap. I did not notice Carbone but, in a moment, I understood that my race was compromised."
The safety car, called out to allow the two cars to be cleared from the track, bunched up the pack and denied van der Garde the opportunity to build a handy lead, but the Dutchman continued to run ahead of Bonanomi and Wickens, while Barba, Pasquale di Sabatino, Mikhail Aleshin, Pic, Pablo Sanchez, Julien Jousse and Guillaume Moreau completed the early top ten.
![Giedo van der Garde - P1 Motorsport [pic credit: Renault Sport Media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/432017.jpg)
