Valencia: Series race 2 report

Kazim Vasiliauskas wins Valencia season finale

Russia's Sergey Afanasiev finishes fifth to secure championship third place

Lithuania's Kazim Vasiliauskas signed off his 2010 season in style by clinching a lights-to-flag victory in the F2 final round at Valencia today (Sunday 19 September).

Mechanics worked through the night to repair Vasiliauskas' car for today's encounter, after it was heavily damaged following a race one collision with Kelvin Snoeks. The Lithuanian driver repaid the team's hard work by securing pole position for the season finale, which he converted into an untroubled race win to end his 2010 campaign on a high.

Behind Vasiliauskas, Jack Clarke maintained his front row grid position to secure a well-deserved second place - equalling his best F2 result to date - whilst newly-crowned champion Dean Stoneman made up two places from his sixth place starting position on the opening lap, before battling his way past Ivan Samarin to clinch his 13th podium of the season.

After tussling with Stoneman early on, fourth place Samarin faced a race-long battle to keep fellow countryman Sergey Afanasiev at bay. The pair were nose to tail on several occasions and even went wheel-to-wheel on lap 12, which almost caused Afanasiev to lose control of the car.

However, Afanasiev recovered well and pushed Samarin all the way to the chequered flag - his fifth place finish securing third in the overall championship standings, just four points ahead of Vasiliauskas.

Mihai Marinescu enjoyed a quietly consistent drive to sixth position, whilst Armaan Ebrahim settled for seventh after dropping back from third on the grid on the opening lap. Kelvin Snoeks and Benjamin Bailly scooped eighth and ninth respectively.

Ramon Pineiro ended his debut F2 weekend with an impressive top ten finish, the Spaniard fighting his way past Philipp Eng to pick up a point at his home circuit.

There were several battles raging throughout the field during the race, one of which resulted in contact between Benjamin Lariche and Will Bratt on the opening lap. Lariche clipped the edge of Bratt's car, which briefly tipped it onto two wheels, however Bratt recovered to finish 15th.

-source: formula two