García and Francia did not make the grid following their Race 1 accident. Huisman was in pole on the reversed grid. Jörg Müller took the best start and managed to jump into the lead from Huisman and Ruberti. Behind them, Tarquini and Giovanardi collided at Redgate; the first spun off in the gravel trap and lost two laps before rejoining. Giovanardi continued, but a damaged front fender handicapped his car’s performances. As Jörg Müller pulled away, Ruberti was chasing Huisman for second place. A train of five drivers was just behind: Rydell, Dirk Müller, Larini, Colciago and Couto. 

On lap 2, Dirk Müller overtook Rydell for fourth. As the fight intensified, Colciago cut the chicane and jumped from seventh to fifth. On lap 4 Dirk Müller went off into the gravel at Coppice due to a puncture, and pitted to change the tyre. On lap 6, Colciago paid a drive through penalty for his cut. Priaulx overtook Couto for sixth. The gaps among the top three drivers, Jörg Müller, Huisman and Ruberti, were stretched lap after lap. Larini was defending his fourth position from Rydell, Priaulx and Couto, while Tavano was quickly closing on them. 

On lap 10, Rydell overtook Larini at the Melbourne Hairpin and moved up to fourth. The final lap turned to drama for Ruberti, who lost his third place when a driveshaft collapsed at the last-but-one corner. Jörg Müller claimed his third success of the season, totally unexpected after he had demolished his car on Saturday. Huisman was classified second and won the Independents race. Rydell heired the third place, which was a brilliant and well deserved result for him and the ART Engineering, although it was due to Ruberti’s bad luck. Larini and Priaulx were classified fourth and fifth, while the PRO Motorsport duo, Couto-Tavano managed to score the first points for the Scottish team. Ruberti’s car toiled across the line in eighth position, and the Italian driver scored the final point.

RACE 1

Pole sitter Larini’s front wheels spun at the start, as Dirk Müller and Giovanardi sprinted past the Alfa Romeos from the second row. The two BMW drivers collided twice door-to-door, and Tarquini managed to pass Giovanardi, sticking on the tail of Dirk Müller’s car. At the chicane, Tarquini outbraked Müller and took the lead. In the Melbourne hairpin, Müller lost two other positions to Larini and Giovanardi, with the latter repeatedly knocking on Larini’s rear bumper. 

On lap 2 Tarquini and Larini pulled away, while the BMW drivers were fighting for third position. Dirk Müller was chasing Giovanardi, while he was defending himself from García. Müller and García clashed at the Old Hairpin and the Spaniard spun; he failed by inches to collect his team-mate Giovanardi, but couldn’t avoid to hit Francia’s Alfa, which was in seventh position. The crash was hard and both cars went off with massive damages. On lap 3 Priaulx came back to the pits with a puncture, while the Stewards inflicted a drive through penalty to Giovanardi, due to his contact with Larini. 

Jörg Müller, who had started from the last spot of the grid, recovered to 11th. On lap 5, Tarquini was comfortably leading, with Larini a few tenths behind; Giovanardi was still defending his third position from Dirk Müller, while Rydell was quickly closing on Colciago. Paolo Ruberti was leading the Independents class. Jörg Müller had just moved up to eighth, and was followed by Huisman, Balzan and Tavano. 

On lap 6, Giovanardi observed the drive through penalty and slipped back. This promoted Dirk Müller to third, but the German driver was threatened by Colciago and Rydell. On lap 8 Jörg Müller overtook Ruberti for sixth, and then moved up to fifth passing Rydell in the Chicane. Balzan lost the ninth position when he received a drive through penalty for cutting the chicane. 

On lap 11 Jörg Müller gained another position, stealing fourth place from Colciago; Ruberti, Huisman, Couto and Gené were in a close fight for seventh. Tarquini scored his third win of the season, and Larini finished second with a very narrow margin ahead of Dirk Müller. Jörg Müller was classified fourth, and Rydell managed to steal fifth place from Colciago and score his and ART Engineering’s first points. Ruberti and Huisman claimed the last points finishing seventh and eighth; they also were classified first and second in the Independents Trophy.

Paolo RUBERTI: “I don’t know what to say, because I’m really sad for having lost the third place two corners from the end of the second race. In the first race I had set-up problems, but I managed to finish seventh and win the Independents class after a tough fight with Huisman. I changed the height at the back of the car between the races, and the handling improved a lot. I took a good start and I was trying to keep the BMW’s pace. It was the maximum I could do. It was a wonderful race until the last lap, when a driveshaft broke and I could not do anything else than slow down and try to make to the end. I was classified eighth, still in the points, but it’s not a consolation.” 

Nicola LARINI: “In the first race, Giovanardi hit me at the back and my rear wing was damaged. Therefore, my car was undriveable. I still managed to finish second. In the second race, I took a lot of risk as my team-mate, Colciago, went straight through the chicane and a stone broke my left window. I tried to push three or four laps but the wind was coming in and I could not see very well anymore. I continued, but in the end I lost concentration and that’s when Rydell overtook me. Thirteen points is not so much but at least I have improved my position in the Championship.” 

Gabriele TARQUINI: “Although I’m still leading the Championship, I am not really happy, as I lost a good opportunity to score more points in the second race. My car was really good, also with 30 kg of ballast, and this enabled me to win the first race. In the second race, I was alone in the middle of the first corner and someone hit me. I do not know who it was. I think he missed the braking point or something like this.”