Mailleux wins Brands reverse grid race

The race was won and lost at the start, as Vernay struggled to contend with the notorious slope of the grid and allowed Mailleux to drive around the outside of him on the approach to Paddock Hill Bend.

Renger van der Zande held third, but his fellow second row starter, Christian Vietoris, stalled and would later be black flagged for a push-start from marshals. This promoted championship protagonist Edoardo Mortara to fourth, ahead of Yann Clairay, Koudai Tsukakoshi and series leader Nico Hulkenberg.

Hulkenberg passed Tsukakoshi on the exit of Druids on the opening lap, after braving it around the outside, and he would pass Clairay at the same place 26 laps later when the Frenchman made a mistake and ran wide.

He closed in on Mortara at the end, but was content to score two points in fifth, which meant Mortara only gained one on him today.

At the front, Mailleux pulled away to a dominant win, with Vernay able to hold van der Zande at bay for second.

Pos  Driver                Team       Car       Time
 1.  Franck Mailleux       Signature  D/V  34:41.673
 2.  Jean-Karl Vernay      Signature  D/V   +  5.159
 3.  Renger van der Zande  Prema      D/M   +  5.675
 4.  Edoardo Mortara       Signature  D/V   +  6.531
 5.  Nico Hulkenberg       ART        D/M   +  6.712
 6.  Yann Clairay          SG         D/M   + 10.221
 7.  Henkie Waldschmidt    SG         D/M   + 11.023
 8.  Koudai Tsukakoshi     Manor      D/M   + 15.477
 9.  Cheng Cong Fu         RC         D/V   + 16.471
10.  Jon Lancaster         ART        D/M   + 28.263
11.  Jens Klingmann        RC         D/V   + 29.211
12.  Erik Janis            Mucke      D/M   + 29.710
13.  Daniel Campos         HBR        D/M   + 30.395
14.  Daniel Clos           Prema      D/M   + 30.962
15.  Rodolfo Gonzalez      Carlin     D/M   + 31.793
16.  Mika Maki             Mucke      D/M   + 32.116
17.  James Jakes           ART        D/M   + 32.623
18.  Jules Bianchi         ART        D/M   + 33.039
19.  Sam Bird              Manor      D/M   + 33.447
20.  Niall Breen           Manor      D/M   + 33.928
21.  Kazuya Oshima         Manor      D/M   + 35.522
22.  Martin Plowman        RC         D/V   + 38.123
23.  Basil Shaaban         HBR        D/M   + 39.828
24.  Richard Philippe      Carlin     D/M   + 40.506
25.  Stefano Coletti       Prema      D/M   + 3 laps

Retirements:

     Driver                Team       Car   Laps
     Christian Vietoris    Mucke      D/M   14