in Dubai

Yesterday’s poleman crossed the finish line first after an eventful race.

Dams’ Kamui Kobayashi stormed to the win in today’s Dubai feature race after he dominated the first  part  of  the  event. 

He  then  lost  the  lead  after  a  late  pitstop  to  Vitaly  Petrov  and  was  later passed by Roldan Rodriguez, but a strong drive and great overtaking manoeuvres put him back on the top spot and the Japanese ace claimed his first victory of the season. Behind Kobayashi, the fight for the second place was fierce.

When the lights went off, Durango’s Davide  Valsecchi  blitzed  his  way  from  fifth to second, quickly followed by Rodriguez. Both men passed  Sakon  Yamamoto  and  Vitaly  Petrov  in  the  process.  Rodriguez  put  great  pressure  on Valsecchi,  but  the  Italian  managed  to  hold  him  off  while  Kobayashi  pulled  away. 

However,  the Durango  racer  lost  positions  after  his  mandatory  pitstop.  It  was  Campos’  Petrov  who  inherited second  place  and  then  first  place  once  Rodriguez  and  Kobayashi  observed  their  pitstop. 

The Russian eventually entered the pits just as Nunes and Buurman violently collided. Both men were fighting for 6th place. Petrov rejoined just ahead of a slow Kobayashi who later was also passed by Rodriguez.

However, the Japanese finally picked up the pace and in a matter of two laps he retook the lead through sensational moves on both Rodriguez and Petrov. The Campos man then struggled with degradation on his left front tyre meaning that he dropped to fifth with Rodriguez, Valsecchi and Van der Garde passing him. A late great charge took Valsecchi ahead of Rodriguez for second place.

Kamui Kobayashi took the  chequered  flag  with  a  comfortable  14  second  gap  on  his  closest  rival.  Valsecchi  finished second ahead of Rodriguez, iSport’s Van der Garde, Vitaly Petrov, Sergio Perez on the second Campos car. Belgian Jérôme d’Ambrosio finished 7th, in front of Sakon Yamamoto who made a poor  start  followed  by a mistake on the second lap.

He will start from pole in Saturday’s sprint race.

Kamui  Kobayashi  also  signed  the  fastest  laptime  in  a  1:43.079,  scoring  the  bonus  point  which, together with the two points from pole position and the 10 points from victory, places him in first place  in  the  drivers’  championship  with  22  points,  3  more  than  Rodriguez.  Davide  Valsecchi  is third with 15 points.

Dubai – Race 1

Driver Team

1. Kamui Kobayashi Dams

2. Davide Valsecchi Durango

3. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet GP

4. Giedo Van der Garde GFH Team iSport

5. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Int. Campos Teams

6. Sergio Perez Barwa Int. Campos Team

7 Jérôme d’Ambrosio Dams

8. Sakon Yamamoto ART Grand Prix

9. Javier Villa Super Nova Racing

10. Luiz Razia Trust Team Arden

11. Renger van Der Zande Trust Team Arden

12. James Jakes Super Nova Racing

13. Giacomo Ricci DPR

14. Fabrizio Crestani Ocean Racing Technology

15. Michael Herck DPR

16. Alberto Valerio Trident Racing

17. Michael Dalle Stelle Durango

18. Kevin Nai Chia Chen Fisichella Motor Sport Int.

19. Pastor Maldonado ART Grand Prix

20. Earl Bamber My Qi-Meritus.Mahara

21. Andreas Zuber Fisichella Motor Sport Int.

Fastest lap time: Kamui Kobayashi (Dams): 1:43.079 on lap 25

Not Classified Driver Team

Yelmer Buurman Ocean Racing Technology

Diego Nunes Piquet GP

Chris Van der Drift Trident Racing

Alex Yoong My Qi-Meritus.

Mahara Hamad Al Fardan GFH Team iSport