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GP2: Sam Bird and James Calado come out on top in Spa-Francorchamps

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Antoine Cremer
Sam Bird took a dominant victory in the feature race presented this weekend in Belgium, as part of the GP2 series' visit to Spa-Francorchamps. His countryman James Calado then went on to win the sprint race Sunday.

Bird, whose first place was never really in danger, drove superbly from pole position to claim his fourth victory of the season on Saturday, ahead of Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi.

Sam Bird, GP2, Spa-Francorchamps
Sam Bird (Photo: GP2series.com)

Championship leader Stefano Coletti had an up and down race which featured a slow puncture and a collision with Dani Clos. His rival in the title hunt Felipe Nasr collided with his teammate Jolyon Palmer, which meant neither Coletti nor Nasr got to score points.

Saturday, James Calado got to start on pole for having finished eighth in the feature race. Like Bird, he won after starting first, but had to fight with Julian Leal, who finished a close second, for the prize. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs completed the podium.

James Calado, Spa-Francorchamps, GP2
James Calado (Photo: GP2series.com)

As both Coletti and Nasr failed for the second consecutive race to score any points, the situation at the top of the standings remained the same. But Fabio Leimer is now only one point behind Nasr, and seven behind Coletti.

Feature race results – GP2 (Spa)
1 - Sam Bird - Russian Time - 25 laps 52'55"642
2 - Marcus Ericsson - Dams - 7"001
3 - Alexander Rossi - Caterham - 8"242
4 - Fabio Leimer - Racing Engineering - 13"950
5 - Tom Dillmann - Russian Time - 15"353
6 - Julian Leal - Racing Engineering - 18"643
7 - Stephane Richelmi - Dams - 26"086
8 - James Calado - ART - 27"559
9 - Robin Frijns - Hilmer - 28"425
10 - Adrian Quaife Hobbs - Hilmer - 30"497
11 - Mitch Evans - Arden - 33"190
12 - Simon Trummer - Rapax - 33"341
13 - Stefano Coletti - Rapax - 33"837
14 - Johnny Cecotto - Arden - 48"970
15 - Jolyon Palmer - Carlin - 49"347
16 - Daniel Abt - ART - 52"471
17 - Jake Rosenzweig - Addax - 57"102
18 - Vittorio Ghirelli - Lazarus - 57"982
19 - Rio Haryanto - Addax - 1'03"628
20 - Dani Clos - MP Motorsport - 1'20"316
21 - Ricardo Teixeira - Trident - 1'27"365
22 - Nathanael Berthon - Trident - 1'28"885

Sprint race results – GP2 (Spa)
1 - James Calado - ART - 18 laps 36'21"338
2 - Julian Leal - Racing Engineering - 0"447
3 - Adrian Quaife Hobbs - MP Motorsport - 1"532
4 - Stephane Richelmi - Dams - 17"905
5 - Fabio Leimer - Racing Engineering - 29"053
6 - Jolyon Palmer - Carlin - 33"284
7 - Johnny Cecotto - Arden - 37"321
8 - Tom Dillmann - Russian Time - 40"052
9 - Felipe Nasr - Carlin - 40"455
10 - Mitch Evans - Arden - 43"421
11 - Simon Trummer - Rapax - 44"373
12 - Sergio Canamasas - Caterham - 45"170
13 - Nathanael Berthon - Trident - 45"987
14 - Sam Bird - Russian Time - 47"459
15 - Marcus Ericsson - Dams - 50"141
16 - Daniel Abt - ART - 50"726
17 - Daniel De Jong - MP Motorsport - 50"818
18 - Vittorio Ghirelli - Lazarus - 53"466
19 - Dani Clos - MP Motorsport - 54"532
20 - Rene Binder - Lazarus - 59"796
21 - Jake Rosenzweig - Addax - 1'03"052
22 - Alexander Rossi - Caterham - 1'18"035
23 - Stefano Coletti - Rapax - 1'21"639
24 - Ricardo Teixeira - Trident - 1'27"956
25 - Rio Haryanto - Addax - 1 lap

Championship
1.Coletti 135; 2.Nasr 129; 3.Leimer 128; 4.Bird 121; 5.Calado 111; 6.Ericsson 82; 7.Richelmi 71; 8.Palmer 68; 9.Lancaster 65; 10.Dillmann 64.


Antoine Cremer
Antoine Cremer
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