Kimiya Sato lost a small portion of his Auto GP points lead to Tamás P’âl Kiss at the Red Bull Ring, despite taking victory in Race One.
From pole, the Japanese driver dropped to 3rd behind P’âl Kiss and Kevin Giovesi by the opening corner. Sato pitted after just four laps in the hope of jumping his rivals and while he dispatch Giovesi, Sato had to take P’âl Kiss on track, before building a 3.92s lead margin. From there, P’âl Kiss held a solid 2nd ahead of Andrea Roda, who took FMS racer Giovesi late on in the pits.
Roda turned that 3rd place into a win in Race Two. Starting in the mid-pack, the Virtuosi UK driver made several places in the early running, before sweeping into the lead during the pitstops. P’âl Kiss took another 2nd place, while Michela Cerruti took another podium, despite starting from the back. Both Sato and Giovesi retired due to suspension damage.
This was a paltry entry list for the Austrian trip. At eleven drivers, it was the lowest count for an Auto GP event since the Auto GP Organisation took over the running of the Euroseries 3000 category at the end of 2009.
