After three pole positions in qualifying, victory in race 1 also went the way of Gianluca Petecof, the Brazilian Prema driver, who led from pole and despite a Safety car period always had the measure of Arthur Leclerc and Oliver Rasmussen.

It was an excellent start that put Petecof ahead, and he immediately began to open a gap over teammate and championship rival Leclerc, followed by the other Prema driver, Rasmussen and Patrick Pasma (KIC Motorsport). Unfortunately, first lap contact between Jamie Chadwick and Kosta Lappalainen damaged the English driver’s car, putting her out of the race.

The Safety Car was deployed and at the restart Petecof once again managed the situation very well. He was soon well ahead of Leclerc, and was clearly the fastest man on the track. Further back there was a very entertaining battle between Nico Goelher (KIC Motorsport) and Alessandro Famularo (Van Amersfoort Racing).

Petecof crossed the finish line about 4 seconds ahead of Leclerc, followed by Rasmussen and Pasma.

Race 2 will start tomorrow at 11.30 local time.