On a tight and winding track like the Circuit de Pau, the driver's ability makes a huge difference. It was highly-rated McLaren junior Lewis Hamilton who set the pace through practice and qualifying, marginally ahead of Arden's Robert Doornbos on the front row. On the second row were iSport's Roberto Streit and guest Super Nova driver Sébastien Loeb. The other driver to particularly impress was Adrian Sutil, who managed to put his STT2 car ahead of Michael Devaney's Zele Racing STT1 on the grid.
Crucially, Hamilton got away well which would always prove to be decisive on a track where overtaking is so ludicrously difficult. As the race went on, it would be Sébastien Loeb who set the fastest pace right up until he hit a Doornbos-shaped roadblock that he couldn't get past. When a spin from Doornbos ultimately did let the Frenchman past, it was fruitless thanks to a mechanical failure on his car. As a result, Roberto Streit and Adrian Zaugg completed the podium, holding firm against a pair of charging DAMS Cars. Simon Pagenaud drove well for BCN, but his poor qualifying run meant that it counted for little.
The big talking point, however, was the collision between the back end of Alvaro Parente's punctured BCN and the front end of Richard Antinucci's Zele. It would take both of them out of the race, as well as destroying a foam board near a braking zone. This would ultimately cost the sole AEZ entrant, Patrick Lemarié, who later explained that he had been using it as his braking marker. Regardless of whether this was the case or simple driver error, Lemarié would be the seventh of nine drivers not to reach the finish line.
There may not have been any Championship points on offer, but Lewis Hamilton's win netted a very useful 100,000 of prize money for his Super Nova team. Next up, the first Championship event: the Belgian 3000.
Final Classification
- Lewis Hamilton (Super Nova) --- 1:28:52.065
- Roberto Streit (iSport) --- +37.978
- Adrian Zaugg (Arden) --- +43.506
- Franck Perera (DAMS) --- +52.445
- Ryan Briscoe (DAMS) --- +1:08.454
- Joao Paulo de Oliveira (Ma-Con) --- +1 lap
- Simon Pagenaud (BCN) --- +1 lap
- Alex Yoong (Astromega) --- +1 lap
- Michael Devaney (Zele) --- +2 laps
- Geido van der Garde (Super Nova) --- +2 laps
- Raffaele Giammaria (Durango) ---+3 laps
- Kohei Hirate (iSport) ---+3 laps
- Chanoch Nissany (Ma-Con) ---+4 laps
Adrian Sutil (Coloni) --- Collision (Lap 67)
Enrico Toccacelo (Coloni) --- Accident (Lap 58)
Patrick Lemarié (AEZ) --- Accident (Lap 44)
Alvaro Parente (BCN) --- Puncture (Lap 42)
Richard Antinucci (Zele) --- Collision (Lap 42)
Sébastien Loeb (Super Nova) --- Mechanical (Lap 38)
Robert Doornbos (Arden) --- Spin (Lap 33)
Jan Heylen (Astromega) --- Puncture (Lap 10)
Matteo Grassotto (Durango) --- Mechanical (Lap 2)