Francesco Pizzi extended his Formula 4 United Arab Emirates lead with a brace of wins in the second round at Yas Marina Ciecuit.
The Xcel Motorsport driver leaves Abu Dhabi with a 41-point lead over Nico Gohler, who joined Mucke Motorsport team-mate Erick Zuniga by taking a race victory during the weekend.
Pizzi?s points lead could have been even greater. After taking the spoils in the first race ahead of team-mate Nicola Marinangeli, Pizzi looked to have made it five wins from five starts after again finishing first in race two.
But a 10-second penalty handed out post-race for exceeding track limits dropped Pizzi to fourth. Marinangeli, who again finished in second, was also penalised 10s for being out of position at the start.
The penalties resulted in Zuniga, who finished third on the road, taking his maiden win, and early leader Gohler moving up to second to give Mucke a one-two finish.
Xcel?s Zdenek Chovanek was promoted to third, having finished sixth originally, with team-mate Lorenzo Fluxa disqualified from fifth position for dangerous driving.
Pizzi returned to the top step of the podium in race three, narrowly beating polesitter Hamda Al Qubaisi. Marinangeli took another podium finish after coming home in third.
Retirements for Pizzi and team-mate Marinangeli in race four played into the hands of Gohler, who led home Al Qubaisi to take his first series win and gain points on his championship rivals. Fluxa took the final podium spot in third.
Results round-up
Race 1 (14 laps)
1 Francesco Pizzi Xcel Motorsport 31m09.059s
2 Nicola Marinangeli Xcel Motorsport +3.419s
3 Nico Gohler Mucke Motorsport +15.073s
4 Lorenzo Fluxa Xcel Motorsport +20.451s
5 Zdenek Chovanec Xcel Motorsport +24.657s
6 Erick Zuniga Mucke Motorsport +25.719s
7 Hamda Al Qubaisi Abu Dhabi Racing +27.070s
8 Reema Juffali Dragon Racing +40.263s
9 Mehrbod Shameli Xcel Motorsport +44.536s
10 Abdulrahmen Al Bloushi Dream Racing +1 lap
Pole: Al Qubaisi, 2m11.436s
Fastest lap: Al Qubaisi, 2m12.412s
Race 2 (13 laps)
1 Zuniga 30m13.304s
2 Gohler +0.811s
3 Chovanec +2.946s
4 Pizzi +5.368s
5 Marinangeli +9.047s
6 Juffali +10.620s
7 Shameli +13.162s
8 Erwin Zanotti Mucke Motorsport +25.108s
9 Constantin Reisch 3Y Technology +26.426s
10 Al Qubaisi +2 laps
FL: Al Qubaisi, 2m13.044s
Race 3 (14 laps)
1 Pizzi 31m19.761s
2 Al Qubaisi +0.309s
3 Marinangeli +8.518s
4 Gohler +12.272s
5 Chovanec +14.915s
6 Zanotti +17.863s
7 Fluxa +19.015s
8 Shameli +24.344s
9 Juffali +33.644s
10 Zuniga +35.668s
P: Al Qubaisi, 2m11.627s
FL: Pizzi, 2m12.966s
Race 4 (14 laps)
1 Gohler 31m26.315s
2 Al Qubaisi +2.769s
3 Fluxa +4.179s
4 Chovanec +12.763s
5 Zuniga +21.302s
6 Juffali +27.628s
7 Shameli +28.146s
8 Reisch +39.635s
9 Al Bloushi +2m24.188s
10 Zanotti +1 lap
FL: Al Qubaisi, 2m13.358s
Championship standings
1 Pizzi 137? ?2 Gohler 96? ?3 Marinangeli 91? ?4 Fluxa 76? ?5 Al Qubaisi 69? ?6 Chovanec 61? ?7 Zuniga 58? ?8 Jufalli 34? ?9 Dexter Patterson 32? ?10 Shameli 27