May 09, 2025
Published on tags: Superleague

 

Tom Stevens claimed victory in a dramatic Spanish Grand Prix, rising to the occasion as late-race rain turned the contest on its head. The THR driver managed the changing conditions masterfully to secure his first win of the 2025 season.
Meunier had begun the day from pole position, in an incredibly close session that saw P1 to P25 covered by only 5 tenths of a second, and looked set to continue his strong form. He led through the opening stint, but while the Frenchman had the pace in the dry, his grip on the race slipped in the rain. A late pass on Geoffrey Fournier allowed him to reclaim second and hold onto the championship lead by just four points.

Behind the front two, Fournier showed flashes of brilliance on the medium tyres before a costly mistake in the turn 6-7 chicane as the rain came down opened the door for Stevens to retake the lead to take his third successive Spanish Grand Prix victory, and second in a row for THR. Still, third place marked the Epic Racing driver's first podium since 2022 in Superleague, a welcome reward after a challenging start to the year.

The turning point came with just over 10 laps to go. A light rain shower, teased by the radar throughout the race, finally hit the circuit. Initially, some gambled early, including Kilk, Maggio, Handgraaf, and Pansar. The rest of the field followed a lap later, diving in for intermediate tyres. The change shuffled the order significantly, and those who had stopped early briefly found themselves running with strong track position.

Marc Schlueter took full advantage. Starting 13th, the Edge Esports driver rose to fifth with a well-timed pit sequence and strong pace throughout the changeable conditions. He passed Alex Lehoux in the final stint, who had lost ground after running wide during the damp phase. Maciej Mlynek also capitalised on the chaos, finishing fourth and delivering crucial points for HRT.

Behind them, Tomasz Wach and Sven Schubert finished seventh and eighth respectively, while Jarl Teien fell to ninth despite running in the top six for much of the race, due to a few issues with pitstop timing. Moritz Kropp ended up with a solid drive in tenth, but his wet pace was not as good as Schubert's and Moritz would have been a bit down to finish outside the top 6.

Further down, Matthew Williams climbed from 25th on the grid to finish 12th in one of the drives of the day. Heigo Poom matched him with a 14-place charge to 13th, while several front-runners faltered. Jan Granqvist crashed out midway through the race in dry conditions, a rare error from the reigning champion, marking his second retirement in a row. David Fidock and Rait Kilk also failed to finish, both falling victim to the treacherous wet weather in the final third of the race. TOP failed to turn up in an interesting turn of form; Frelik and Martin starting 16th and 19th respectively, and only Carlos finishing, securing a few points in 11th.

The outcome shakes up the championship fight. Meunier now leads the standings with 75 points, with Stevens just four behind. Granqvist drops to third on 70 after back-to-back non-scores. THR also extend their lead at the top of the team's championship, with 112 points ahead of nearest challengers Super Venturi on 88.

The season heads to the United States and back to Indianapolis, for Round 6, before the spring break allows everyone to relax.