Jeddah Corniche Circuit

SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX

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April 29, 2010
Published on tags: Superleague
Janne Tanskanen resumed normal service at the Pannonia Ring, winning the Hungarian Grand Prix in front of a resilient Lee Morris who had, once again, to defend from Mark Wicks in the closing stages of the race.

On a new track for most of the drivers, the start, with Tanskanen leading Morris in the front row, followed by the Woods pair, was an almost flawless affair, the only problem a minor contact between Lee Iden and Mark Stanton. Nick Rowland, who had a lacklustre qualifying session and started 8th, took a chance in the first turns and by the end of the lap found himself in 4th position, as Stanton, Iden and Gavin Thomas pitted to repair various degrees of damage. Fernando Babij on ART had a storming start, going from 21st to 13th while, on the other hand, Leontin Nemet dropped 10 positions from his starting 7th place.

Lap 3 saw the first retirement of the race, with a shunt between Liam Hatchell and Agustin Canapino which ended the weekend for both drivers. An upset Hatchell could be seen in the pits afterwards, muttering obscene things at mechanics, other drivers and random passers-by.

As the first window of pit stops arrived, Tanskanen had opened a big enough gap not to worry about losing positions when stopping. On the other hand, however, Lee Morris's strategy was dealt a blow as Kieran Ryan, choosing a three-stop strategy, found himself in front of the CSG ace. The Irishman lost the position again when he eventually pitted at lap 35 - but, by then, the gap between Tanskanen and Morris was all but decisive.

A late mistake by Lee Morris allowed both Wicks and Rowland through, but the lead driver of the English team was able to recover P2 and fend off all further attacks until the end of the race. Mark Wicks clinched yet another podium, while Rowland was fourth in front of the other Woods Racing of Kieran Ryan. David Stanton and Gregg Lawson brought points to their teams in 6th and 7th, while Mark Stanton and Fernando Babij finished in front of Christoph Lichtenstein, the last of the point-scorers.