Tom Dillmann holds off Razia for maiden GP2 victory

Tom Dillmann has secured his maiden GP2 victory after a nail-biting sprint race in Bahrain, crossing the line only +0.1 seconds ahead of Luiz Razia. Championship leader Davide Valsecchi finished 3rd, after taking victory in the feature race yesterday.

Heading down into turn 1 at the start, there was mayhem as Esteban Gutierrez and Giedo van der Garde made contact. This forced the Dutchman into a spin, which in turn forced the majority of the drivers’ to take avoiding action as the Caterham spun it’s wheels causing smoke to waft over the other drivers’.

By the end of lap 1, Luiz Razia was already in 3rd position and was hunting down the iSport International of Marcus Ericsson. The Brazilian driver eventually caught and passed Ericsson into turn 1 on the 4th lap. The first corner incident between Gutierrez and van der Garde was now under investigation by the race stewards, however it was later announced that no further action was to be taken. Johnny Cecotto jr. became the first retirement, with what looked like a mechanical failure on lap 1.

The Swedish driver of Marcus Ericsson made the race even more difficult for himself, as he collided with a polystyrene brake marker which was on the track. This caused slight damage to his front wing, and he began to slip down the order thereafter.

After dominating the feature race, Davide Valsecchi was not having the sprint race all his own way, and was passed by the Lotus of Esteban Gutierrez for 5th place. Gutierrez then charged on and passed GP3 graduate Rio Haryanto for 3rd, as Valsecchi finally made a move on Ericsson for 5th place.

Davide Valsecchi then began his race charge, passing Haryanto for 4th on lap 12 before reeling in the Mexican of Esteban Gutierrez. Heading down into the tight turn 8, Davide Valsecchi lunged up the inside of Gutierrez, snatching 3rd place away from the Lotus driver.

As the race entered it’s closing stages, GP3 graduate Tom Dillmann came under serious pressure from Luiz Razia. The Frenchman never won a race in GP3 in 2011, and looked set to take his maiden victory in Bahrain. However, as the laps faded away Razia closed right up on Dillmann, with the two crossing the line on the final lap only three tenths apart.

With the scenario similar to that of the 1992 Monaco Grand Prix where Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna jostled for the lead in the closing stages, Luiz Razia tried his hardest to find a way around the 23-year-old Rapax driver. However, it was not to be and Tom Dillmann crossed the line in sensational style to take his maiden GP2 victory only a tenth ahead of the Brazilian.

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