John Martin of Australia won the reversed-grid second race at Zolder in Belgium, round two of the Superleague Formula Nations Cup.
Martin took full advantage when Spain/Atletico Madrid's early race leader Andy Soucek stalled during his compulsory pitstop, and his car refused to restart. "It was going very well, the pace was good," said Soucek. "We had good tires, a new set for the second stint, and I should have won the race. The pit stop went well, but then it stalled like race one. It's very strange, a big disappointment."
Once he'd got the better of a great early battle with Turkey's Duncan Tappy, Martin set some quick times following his pit stop, which was easily enough to overhaul the on-the-road leader, Russia's Mikhail Aleshin, who left his stop late.
Max Wissel (South Korea) crucially battled his way past Tappy just before Aleshin's pitstop, which released him into clear air which guaranteed the pace he needed to take second. But he was 5.3s behind the dominant Martin by the finish.
Frederic Vervisch (Luxembourg) finished fourth, ahead of a close battle between Tappy, Yelmer Buurman (Netherlands/PSV Eindhoven), Robert Doornbos (Japan) and Chris van der Drift (New Zealand). Antonio Pizzonia, who ran second for Brazil early on, was penalized for jumping the start and dropped to 12th after a drive-through penalty.
The big news further back was race one winner Craig Dolby's air pressure system failure, which forced his retirement as he was jammed in gear.
Martin's win means Australia overhauls England, who drop to fifth, at the top of the championship.