Evans starts season on winning note as MW Arden secures top-ten triple
One of the stars of last season’s GP3 Series, Mitch Evans began his 2012 campaign in perfect style with a stylish victory for SONAX partner MW Arden in the opening race of the year in Barcelona.
The 17-year-old New Zealander moved up from fourth to third at the start, then assumed the race lead after rivals Daniel Abt (Lotus) and Antonio Felix da Costa (Carlin) were handed drive-through penalties for jumping the start. Evans’s rhythm was broken on lap nine, when the safety car was dispatched to allow Ocean driver Kevin Ceccon’s stranded car to be recovered, but he restarted cleanly and pulled away to finish 2.6s clear of Marlon Stockinger (Status GP).
Evans’s success was the highlight of a fine race for MW Arden, with new signings Matias Laine and David Fumanelli driving strong races to finish fifth and ninth.