Kevin Magnussen added a second win to the one he gained on Saturday and took the lead in almost identical fashion, passing Felipe Nasr around the outside at Riches. “It's a good place – that was my chance and I took it,” said Magnussen of his favoured overtaking move.
Like Saturday's first race the pair had started from the front row, and Nasr made a good enough getaway to beat Magnussen through the gears. However, behind Will Buller and Hywel Lloyd touched as they tried to squeeze through gaps to make the best of the start in a seres where overtaking chances are at a premium.
The contact flung Buller's left-rear wheel upwards, snapping the suspension and sending the Ulsterman backwards into the barriers having barely made it past the start line. Lloyd, meanwhile became the latest driver to pit of a new front wing, before continuing at the rear of the field.
The safety car was a piece of fortune for Lloyd, as it was for Rupert Svendsen–Cook, who had started from the pitlane – the Suffolk-based driver still fighting against the misfire that put him out of the day's earlier race. It also proved good fortune for Magnussen, and the start of misfortune for Nasr.
The Brazilian backed the pack up – allowing the safety car to gain a massive lead before accelerating for the restart. The ploy failed, having to slow down to avoid passing the safety car, and the first four crossed the line to restart nose-to-tail and Magnussen made his move of choice at Riches, Nasr again powerless to fend off the Dane and could do little to stop him from building a lead.
“I kind of knew he was going to do that [back off before the restart],” said Magnussen. “He tried to back off and leave a big gap to the safety car but it didn't work out because we caught the safety car before the last corner and he had to back off and I was on his tail.”
Nasr's race went from bad to worse. A slow puncture caused him to tumble down the order to sixth before finally pitting, taking on new tyres and returning a clear track with the intention of salvaging the point on offer for fastest lap. But before, work to that end could begin he has given a drive through penalty for not observing the correct restart procedure. The mistake of slowing the field down had punished the Brazilian twice.
Nasr was disappointed by the race result, but ended the weekend with the lap record
There was some relief for the man who started the weekend leading the points, as he did take fastest lap, laying down three startling laps, only interrupted by the necessary evil of passing Kotaru Sakurai. The final fastest lap of the three – 1.39.933 – put some gloss back on the weekend as it set the overall lap record for the track.
Carlos Huertas had benefitted from Nasr's puncture to take second, Riki Christodoulou taking the third step on the podium. Jazeman Jaafar finished fourth at the end of a quiet weekend for the Malaysian ahead of Pietro Fantin and Double R pairing Pipo Derani and Scott Pye.
Fortec Motorsport's Harry Tincknell finished eighth. The Brit had ended the first lap sixth, but went wide at Corum as the field was coming up to speed for the restart. Despite this mistake he did end the weekend by picking up the Driver of the Weekend award from fuel supplier Sunoco.
Race two winner Lucas Foresti finished ninth, with Yann Cuhna picking up the final point.
After his retirement earlier in the day Bart Hylkema resumed winning ways in the Rookie Class. He trailed sole rival Kotaru Sakurai after the opening lap, but took the class lead on lap nine, taking advantage of a mistake by the Japanese Hitech Racing driver.
