Formula Two news

Soucek wins first Donington race

Andy Soucek has extended his championship lead by winning the first race of the day at Donington Park. The Spaniard led home Mikhail Aleshin and Tobias Hegewald as nine different nationalities of driver filled as many places at the top of the final results sheet. Jack Clarke was the leading British contender in ninth spot.

Starting from third on the grid, Soucek made a fantastic getaway to lead into the first corner, whilst pole sitter Tobias Hegewald dropped down to third behind Mikhail Aleshin. Soucek continued to pull a gap on his rivals behind, setting his fastest lap towards the end of the race, which he went on to win comfortably by nearly ten seconds.

"This was the kind of race you dream about - it was perfect," said Soucek. "From the start I hit the boost at just the right moment and in the right place, and it was fantastic - I don't think I will be able to repeat such a start many times. I'm really pleased, particularly for my mechanic who did a fantastic job repairing my car after my crash yesterday and it was just perfect.

"I was just amazed that every lap I saw my times and they were exactly the same. My rhythm was very consistent which is the most important thing in a race, so I'm really happy."

Whilst Soucek was never challenged, there was action throughout the field behind him, with Aleshin, Hegewald and Miloš Pavlovic enjoying a race-long scrap for second place. Aleshin absorbed the pressure and held on to claim 8 points, whilst Pavlović managed to pass Hegewald on Lap 20 going into the Fogerty Esses, only to suddenly slow and retire two laps later.

Edoardo Piscopo took a strong fourth place, with Philipp Eng in fifth. Sebastian Hohenthal and Julien Jousse recovered to sixth and seventh after dropping down the order following an earlier collision at Goddards, whilst Armaan Ebrahim took the final point in eighth.

Jack Clarke slipped to ninth after losing time during an off at Redgate, but the Englishman still enjoyed one of this strongest drives of the season, having been running in a points paying position from 13th on the grid. Mirko Bortolotti rounded out the top ten after he eventually passed Jason Moore on the Dunlop Straight - the pair having endured a titanic battle throughout.

Canadian Robert Wickens dropped through the field after a technical problem and retired, whilst Nicola De Marco and Jens Höing were eliminated following a lap one collision. Jolyon Palmer, Henri Karjalainen and Carlos Iaconelli came together in dramatic style on Lap 17, damaging all three cars. Palmer had seemingly shown enough of his car down the inside of Iaconelli at the Fogerty Esses, but the Brazilian turned in and heavy contact was made. As a result, Karjalainen had nowhere to go and he made contact with the rear of Palmer's car.

Alex Brundle recovered from a spin after a close moment with Henri Karjalainen at Coppice, whilst Pietro Gandolfi retired following a double spin at the Fogerty Esses and Goddards.

The day's second race, Round 10 of 2009, will begin at 3:45pm (BST / GMT +1).

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