FV8 3.5: Panis fends off Dillmann to win race two

Arden racer Aurelien Panis held off championship leader Tom Dillmann to claim his second victory of the season in the second Formula V8 3.5 race of the weekend at Spielberg.

From fifth on the grid, Panis ran fourth in the early laps after passing the Charouz-run Lotus of Roy Nissany away from the start. The Frenchman was among a group of five drivers to take a mandatory pit stop at the earliest opportunity on lap eight. Thereafter, Panis demonstrated searing pace to emerge in the lead at the completion of the pit stop sequence on lap 16.

"It was fantastic race," said Panis. "I had a magic pit stop and a magic car.

"Yesterday, qualifying [in 11th] was difficult, as I had some traffic and also didn't put together my best lap. But the race pace was strong. I have to say big thank you to the team.

"My father [grand prix winner Olivier] missed my victory in Motorland, although my mother was there, but it's great that he is here to see this."

In contrast to Panis, his compatriot Dillmann opted to be one the last drivers to stop, pitting from the lead for fresh Michelins one lap before the pit window closed. The strategy assisted in moving the AVF racer from his sixth place starting position ahead of pole-sitter Matevos Isaakyan into second.

In the closing stages, Dillmann closed a three-second deficit to Panis to just over half a second at the checkered flag, but he was never close enough to stage a passing attempt.

"I kept going long as we were the quickest car on track," explained Dillmann. "That helped move from fifth to second.

"There were four laps towards the finish when yellow flags were being shown, which made it difficult to close in on Aurelien, but I am happy to leave Austria with an 18-point margin over the second-placed driver in the championship."

Isaakyan, who became the youngest driver to take pole position in the history of the category on Sunday morning, claimed his first podium. The Russian SMP Racing driver appeared composed in the lead during the early laps, but he lost ground with a relatively slow tire change and was unable to match the pace of Panis.

Race one runner-up Louis Deletraz soaked up intense pressure from the second Arden entry of Egor Orudzhev throughout the race, holding on take fourth.

Saturday victor Matthieu Vaxiviere circulated in third during the early laps, behind Deletraz, but he lost ground relative to his rivals during the stops and would end the afternoon in a relatively lonely sixth.

The Lotus team, which dominated the preceding round at Silverstone, suffered a race to forget. Home driver Rene Binder was delayed by a stuck right-rear wheel during his tire change, and lost further ground during a trip through the gravel.

Binder's teammate Nissany also finished out of the points. The Silverstone winner's front wing made slight contact with the right-rear wheel of Yu Kanamaru at Turn 5 when attempting to pass the Teo Martin Motorsport driver.

Kanamaru sustained a puncture that ended his race, while Nissany pitted for a new front wing before rejoining and setting fastest lap.

RACE TWO RESULTS:

DRIVERS' STANDINGS

Originally on Autosport.com