• GP2, Spanish Grand Prix, Race 2

Razia wins from pole in GP2 sprint race at Barcelona

ESPNF1 Staff
May 13, 2012

Luiz Razia won the GP2 sprint race at Barcelona from lights to flag, keeping second place Nathanael Berthon at a comfortable distance throughout.

Championship leader Davide Valsecchi continued to rack up the points in third, but came under pressure in the final laps from James Calado, who built on his impressive second place in the feature race with fourth in the sprint.

Razia dominated the race, getting a good start while the two drivers directly behind him on the grid - Max Chilton and Fabio Onidi - bogged down. Berthon made a flying start from fourth on the grid and despite fellow-fast-starter Valsecchi going deep into the first corner behind him, Berthon held second and kept the position from that point onwards.

Calado initially fell behind Saturday's winner Giedo van der Garde but found a way back past on the first lap. He then nipped past Max Chilton coming out of turn 10 on lap four to start his pursuit of Valsecchi. But despite Valsecchi's tyres appearing to feel the strain towards the end of the race, Calado couldn't get close enough at any of the overtaking opportunities and had to settle for fourth.

Chilton eventually dropped to fifth but was able to keep van der Garde at bay in sixth, who in turn managed to stop Esteban Gutierrez from making a move from seventh. Stefano Coletti picked up the final point in eighth, and it was well deserved after a stunning passing move around the outside of Felipe Nasr into turn one on lap 13. It looked like the pair would touch as the track narrowed towards the apex of turn two, but they managed to avoid a collision, with Nasr going on to take ninth ahead of Fabrizio Crestani in tenth.

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