Merhi takes dominant win at the 'Ring

Date published : 06 Aug 2011 - 10:00:26

Roberto Merhi dominated the opening F3 Euro Series race of the weekend at the Nurburgring by leading home Daniel Juncadella for a Prema Powerteam one-two.The Spaniard did not make the greatest of getaways and had to stick resolutely to the inside of the track at Turn 1 to prevent the fast-starting Felix Rosenqvist from stealing his second place.He opportunistically attempted to go around the outside of polesitter Juncadella at Turn 3, and although this effort failed, it did give him the inside line for the following corner and allowed him to dive inside his team-mate for the lead.Merhi was unchallenged after that, ending the first lap a second clear and pulling away to a comfortable sixth win of the year - one that increased his championship lead to 48 points.Behind Juncadella, there was a hard-fought battle for the final podium spot between Mucke team-mates Rosenqvist and Nigel Melker. The latter was easily able to stay within a second of the Swede, but made a number of mistakes whenever he attempted to get any closer, and was forced to settle for fourth.With Mercedes-powered Dallaras sweeping the top four places, Signature team-mates Laurens Vanthoor and Marco Wittmann held up the Volkswagen challenge in fifth and sixth - the latter's title hopes taking a major hit in the process.The only remotely entertaining battle during a processional race was that between Jimmy Eriksson and Carlos Munoz for ninth during the middle stages of the race.Munoz was fighting back after being tipped into a spin at the start by his Signature team-mate Daniel Abt - who received a front left puncture and a broken front wing in the process - and dived down the inside of his Motopark rival at Turn 1 on lap 12.Eriksson did not give way though, the pair banging wheels and going off onto the grass at the exit of the corner. While the Swede rejoined without damage, Munoz spun again after clipping a kerb and being launched into the air as he attempted to rejoin the circuit.The Colombian did eventually take ninth spot with three laps to go. Ahead of him were Prema's Gianmarco Raimondo and Motopark's Kimiya Sato, who secured pole for the reversed grid second race with eighth spot.Results - 29 laps:Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Roberto Merhi Prema Dallara-Merc 40'30.941s 2. Daniel Juncadella Prema Dallara-Merc + 3.693s 3. Felix Rosenqvist Mucke Dallara-Merc + 15.159s 4. Nigel Melker Mucke Dallara-Merc + 16.946s 5. Laurens Vanthoor Signature Dallara-VW + 20.229s 6. Marco Wittmann Signature Dallara-VW + 22.911s 7. Gianmarco Raimondo Prema Dallara-VW + 27.980s 8. Kimiya Sato Motopark Dallara-VW + 40.849s 9. Carlos Munoz Signature Dallara-VW + 51.124s10. Jimmy Eriksson Motopark Dallara-VW + 58.532s11. Kuba Giermaziak Star Dallara-VW + 59.465s12. Daniel Abt Signature Dallara-VW + 1 lap