Maiden Win for Roda as Championship Contenders Retire

Andrea Roda led Tamas Pal Kiss to a Virtuosi UK 1-2 finish as Auto GP World Series championship contenders Kimiya Sato, Markus Pommer and Kevin Giovesi all retired with mechanical issues at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

Roda made a good start from sixth on the grid to get into fourth on the opening lap, and then moved up to second behind Giovesi by the end of lap two. He was able to hold onto the FMS Racing driver until the pit stop cycle began, and inherited the lead when his rival was delayed in the pits. Unfortunately for Giovesi, his rear wheel came detached from his car on his out-lap causing him to have to pull over into retirement.

On the very same lap, championship leader Sato also retired his Euronova Racing machine with what appeared to be a rear suspension failure as he put pressure on Pal Kiss for what would become second place. Sato and Giovesi’s retirements left the way clear for the Virtuosi UK duo to take first and second, while Michela Cerruti made up for the disappointment of her opening race retirement to take a podium in third for Super Nova International.

Shinya Michimi had his best result of the season in fourth for Euronova Racing, with Michele La Rosa of MLR71 by Euronova fifth. Salvatore de Plano was a lap down in his FMS Racing machine but profited from the retirements ahead of him to take sixth despite not being at the pace of the rest of the field.

As well as Sato and Giovesi retiring, Markus Pommer was also a casualty, retiring the second Super Nova International entry on only the second lap with an apparent engine failure, while Christof von Grunigen of Zele Racing and Giuseppe Cipriani of the Ibiza Racing Team both crashed out on the opening laps.

Red Bull Ring Race 2 Result