Lynn wins Hockenheim GP2 sprint race, Sirotkin takes series lead

Alex Lynn survived a frenetic start and several Virtual Safety Car periods to score his second victory of the 2016 GP2 Series season at Hockenheim on Sunday.

Lynn had been due to start the race from reverse grid pole, but Pierre Gasly’s exclusion from Saturday’s results meant that the Briton dropped to second behind Antonio Giovinazzi.

Lynn recovered his lead quickly at the start as Giovinazzi bogged down, pulling ahead with compatriot Oliver Rowland in tow at the front.

Rowland was unable to keep up with Lynn as the race wore on, causing him to drop back towards the recovering Giovinazzi, who needed to make progress after also being hit with a time penalty for forcing Arthur Pic off-track at the start. An attempt at Turn 5 resulted in contact, leaving Giovinazzi in the gravel and out of the race.

Rowland continued to come under pressure from the chasing pack, with Saturday winner Sergey Sirotkin managing to slip through into second place before the Briton also dropped behind Pic and Luca Ghiotto in the closing stages.

Up front, Lynn managed to remain calm before crossing the line three seconds clear of Sirotkin to pick up his second win of the season.

Second place saw Sirotkin take the lead of the championship after erstwhile leader Gasly finished the race sixth, salvaging some points from the weekend after being disqualified on Saturday when his fire extinguisher emptied during the race.

Pic completed the podium for Rapax ahead of Ghiotto, Rowland and Gasly, while Raffaele Marciello and Gustav Malja completed the top eight, all of whom were covered by just 10 seconds.

GP2 now embarks on a one-month break before returning at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in support of the Belgian Grand Prix.

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