Narain triumphs at Brands Hatch

Narain Karthikeyan won the second Superleague Formula race at Brands Hatch for PSV Eindhoven, but the event was marred by a huge accident for Chris van der Drift that meant it was curtailed prematurely.

 

Following his early exit from Race 1, Karthikeyan not only started from pole but had the luxury of two sets of fresh tyres in Race 2. He nailed the start as soon as he could, and pulled out a seven-second lead before his mandatory pitstop.

 

Despite a leisurely stop, due to a sticking right-rear wheelnut, Narain rejoined still well clear of Julien Jousse (Roma). He eventually won by over 12s, as Jousse dropped back, after suffering a lack of grip from his tyres.

 

Jousse fell to fifth, and Chris van der Drift (Olympiacos) was right on his tail as they entered the Grand Prix loop for the 30th lap. On the run towards Hawthorns, van der Drift used his push-to-pass button, and went over the back of Jousse, hitting his right-rear wheel which sent him into a massive airbourne accident that stopped the race. His car ended up in the middle of the track on its side, causing some major avoiding action by the cars behind him.

 

Davide Rigon finished second for Anderlecht, ahead of Duncan Tappy - on the podium again for Flamengo - and Alvaro Parente (Porto). Jousse was classified sixth, ahead of van der Drift.