Hamad led the first dry race of the weekend after the first lap from Vervisch, Howson, Rafael Suzuki and Niall Quinn. Next lap saw Vervisch dive past Hamad at turn one to take the lead which he extended over the balance of the race. Turn one was the site of all the action as Quinn had a quick spin under braking avoiding Howson. This left Howson and Suzuki in a close race which came to a head on lap five when Suzuki out-braked Howson into turn one only for the two to collide allowing Quinn back into third place. Suzuki was forced to retire with suspension damage whilst Howson finished in fourth place. The attention was now on the impressive Quinn who was on a charge and rapidly catching Hamad in second place. Whilst he failed to take the place by a mere four hundreds of a second he did have the consolation of fastest race lap.
After the race Vervisch was protested for reversing on the grid, due to overshooting his grid position, and disqualified. Vervisch has appealed the decision.
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