Adriano Buzaid produced a commanding performance in atrocious conditions to claim his maiden British F3 win in a breathless second encounter at Spa today.
A heavy downpour delayed the start and reduced the race distance to 11 laps, but the rain was brief and most drivers opted for slick tires.
Brazilian racer Buzaid powered into the lead from his first pole position, with points leader Daniel Ricciardo (Carlin) tucking into second.
A first-lap shunt at the Bus Stop, caused by Fortec's Victor Garcia, eliminated Stephane Richelmi and Rosenzweig, who became a mobile chicane with wet tires on a dry first lap.
By the second lap, cars began struggling for grip and Buzaid nearly ceded to Ricciardo after a wild moment at Pouhon.
The Australian went on the attack on the run to Les Combes next time around and passed his rival briefly, but Buzaid used the tow to retake the lead with a gutsy move around the outside into the corner.
As the track became wetter, Buzaid drew away from his pursuers and claimed T-Sport's second win of the season quite comfortably.
"Because I scored no points yesterday I had to score 20 points today," said the winner. "I'd like to dedicate this win to Henry Surtees and his family."
Ricciardo looked less assured in the difficult conditions, but extended his championship lead with an unchallenged run to second.
Buzaid's team-mate Wayne Boyd held third early on, but fell back as the track became wetter. He pitted for wets just after mid-distance, but couldn't make up the lost time and finished well down.
Hitech's Renger van der Zande battled Fortec's Riki Christodoulou for third until the Briton crashed out of fourth at the start of lap seven.
Van der Zande's team-mate Walter Grubmuller worked his way up well from ninth on the grid to fifth in the early part of the race, which became fourth when Christodoulou retired. Grubmuller then vaulted his team-mate, who lost a substantial advantage on the penultimate lap, to claim the final podium spot.
Van der Zande came under threat from duelling Carlin pair Henry Arundel and Max Chilton on the final run to the Bus Stop. All three went in too hot and only Chilton made the corner. Van der Zande and Arundel scrabbled over the run-off to finish fourth and fifth, with Chilton rounding out the top six.
Double R pairing Carlos Huertas and Daisuke Nakajima recovered well from early dramas to finish seventh and eighth, ahead of Hywel Lloyd and Esteban Gutierrez (ART), who climbed into the top 10 from the back of the grid.
RESULTS:
Pos Driver Make Time
1. Adriano Buzaid Dallara/Volkswagen 27:34.731
2. Daniel Ricciardo Dallara/Volkswagen + 5.900
3. W.Grubmuller Dallara/Mercedes + 20.615
4. R.van der Zande Dallara/Mercedes + 22.247
5. Henry Arundel Dallara/Volkswagen + 22.519
6. Max Chilton Dallara/Volkswagen + 23.152
7. Carlos Huertas Dallara/Mercedes + 25.860
8. Daisuke Nakajima Dallara/Mercedes + 39.395
9. Hywel Lloyd Dallara/Mugen-Honda + 56.138
10. E.Gutierrez Dallara/Mercedes + 57.195
11. Gabriel Dias Dallara/Mugen-Honda +1:00.543
12. Wayne Boyd Dallara/Volkswagen +1:01.657
13. Daniel McKenzie Dallara/Mugen-Honda +1:27.520
14. Philip Major Dallara/Volkswagen +1:51.431
15. Kevin Chen Dallara/Mercedes 1 Lap
16. Victor Garcia Dallara/Mercedes 1 Lap
Not classified:
Driver Make Laps
Jules Bianchi Dallara/Mercedes 9
R.Christodoulou Dallara/Mercedes 7
Victor Correa SLC/Mugen-Honda 7
Jay Bridger Mygale/Mercedes 5
Valtteri Bottas Dallara/Mercedes 1
Jake Rosenzweig Dallara/Volkswagen 0
S.Richelmi Dallara/Mercedes 0
Nicolas Marroc Dallara/Mercedes 0