“GP3 Series: Kvyat wins easily amidst Monza carnage”

Daniil Kvyat took his second GP3 Series win of the season at Monza this afternoon in style.

The Red Bull junior driver took the victory ahead of Carlin’s Nick Yelloly and ART Grand Prix’s Facu Regalia.

From the start, the Russian racer pulled away from pole position with little worry, as chaos reigned in his mirrors.

With Kvyat safely clear, Marussia Manor driver Dino Zamparelli speared across the grass on the approach to the opening turn, eventually slamming into teammate and championship contender Tio Ellinas.
As cars dodged the circus of carbon fibre, the out of control Ellinas was unable to avoid clipping the rear of Carlos Sainz Jr, who dropped to the rear of the order, but continued.
Ellinas and Zamparelli, however, were out on the spot, as was Robert Visoiu, while Conor Daly continued for two corners before pulling aside.

It was enough to give Kvyat a valley of clear space from which he built a 3.4s lead ahead of Yelloly by the end of the opening tour, with the lead growing slowly as Kvyat took care to contain his tyres.
The gap lingered at just under four seconds for much of the duration, but later expanded to 5.3s at the race end as the Russian pushed for the bonus awarded for fastest lap.

Yelloly remained unchallenged for much of the running, with the Englishman holding steady in his Carlin machine, securing a worthy third podium of the season.

A third consecutive podium for Regalia’s means his lead in the series is now 11 points; however Kvyat has emerged as the main protagonist in his mirrors. Regalia’s mirrors were – quite literally – full for much of the race with Lewis Williamson’s Status GP entry.
Starting 10th, the Scot gained some spot amidst the early carnage, but really made his mark when he leapfrogged a battling Alexander Sims and Kevin Korjus on lap five.

Williamson continued on to finish 4th; Sims and Korjus not far behind as they chased. Jack Harvey took Patric Niederhauser and Patrick Kujala early on, before settling into 7th ahead Niederhauser – the latter whom takes the reverse grid pole for tomorrow.
Sainz Jr climbed back up to 9th after a stellar stint that saw him fight past Kujala, Giovanni Venturini (several times as they battled for the top ten), Emanuele Zonzini, David Fumanelli, Jimmy Eriksson and Aaro Vainio.

2013 GP3 Series (Rd 7, Race 1; 17 laps)
Pos  Driver               Team        Time/Gap
 1.  Daniil Kvyat         MW Arden  28m10.516s
 2.  Nick Yelloly         Carlin       +5.352s
 3.  Facu Regalia         ART          +8.084s
 4.  Lewis Williamson     Bamboo       +8.694s
 5.  Alexander Sims       Carlin      +10.683s
 6.  Kevin Korjus         Koiranen    +12.426s
 7.  Jack Harvey          ART         +13.557s
 8.  Patric Niederhauser  Jenzer      +23.166s
 9.  Carlos Sainz Jr      MW Arden    +28.336s
10.  Patrick Kujala       Koiranen    +30.410s
11.  Giovanni Venturini   Trident     +30.779s
12.  Melville Mckee       Bamboo      +31.301s
13.  Jimmy Eriksson       Status      +32.192s
14.  Emanuele Zonzini     Trident     +33.913s
15.  David Fumanelli      Trident     +34.447s
16.  Aaro Vainio          Koiranen    +42.557s
17.  Samin Gomez          Jenzer    +1m10.797s
18.  Carmen Jorda         Bamboo    +1m40.461s
19.  Adderly Fong         Status        +1 lap
20.  Ryan Cullen          Manor         +1 lap
Retirements:
     Luis Sa Silva        Carlin      +13 laps
     Alex Fontana         Jenzer      +15 laps
     Robert Visoiu        MW Arden    +16 laps
     Conor Daly           ART         +16 laps
     Josh Webster         Status      +17 laps
     Dino Zamparelli      Manor       +17 laps
     Tio Ellinas          Manor       +17 laps