July 28, 2010
Published on tags: Supercup
Sam Millar and Jason Muscat made up an unusual front row at the Brazilian Grand Prix - one that could potentially extinguish Liam Hatchell's hopes for the final crown and leave the title in the hands of Christoph Lichtenstein and Chris Williamson. What turned out was an amazing race that saw Maltese Muscat duel his way through most of the race, and produced a new winner in the Supercup.

On the grid, a moment of distraction caused Nikos Evangelidakis to collide with Gavin Thomas, the Red 5 car suffering damage that will prove costly later on in the race. Jason Muscat was the best starter, his lunge out of the grid enough to overpower Sam Millar in T1. Behind, Adam Smith took debutant Tim-Oliver Wagner's position. Muscat's lead proved to be short-lived, however, as Scotsman Millar regained the lead, followed by Hatchell who also passed the Red 5. Muscat, however, soon took back P2 by passing Hatchell at the end of the second straight.

Behind the leaders, a squabble erupted between Williamson and Wagner, with Smith who took advantage to open a gap on the two. Liam Hatchell, forced behind Muscat with a possibly faster car, attempted several moves, only to be frustrated by the good defending of the Maltese rival. The Draig driver attempts seemed to pay off in lap 4, but that instead turned out to be a key point in the race. As Hatchell lined up on the inside of Muscat, a contact between the two sent the former spinning and in the wall - forcing him to drive the whole lap to the pits for some lengthy repairs. With Licthenstein now in third, Hatchell rejoined in 8th place, his race compromised.

With 22 laps left to salvage something from the event, Hatchell was forced to change his strategy, and opted not to pit again - leaving all the others to start the pit waltz instead. Lap 17 saw Smith and Muscat pit, with Lichtenstein taking P2. At the start of lap 18, Evangelidakis spun in T1, hitting the wall heavily causing him to retire. Smith came out of the pit in 9th, Muscat 5th. With Sam Millar pitting on Lap 19, Lichtenstein took P1 for the first time in the race. Millar rejoined in 3rd, but retook the lead as both his German rival and Wagner pitted.

The last laps of the race saw Hatchell making the best out of his strategy and coming all the way up to P4. As Millar drove on to victory, however, a furious battle would start between Lichtenstein and Muscat, with the Red 5 driver struggling to pass the Championship leader despite a more stable setup in the mixed part. It was only with a few laps left that the move stuck, raising Muscat to P2 and relegating Lichtenstein to P3 - only a place ahead of the most dangerous man for his Championship bid.