Mortara had overtaken Venturi teammate Lucas di Grassi at Turn 18 amid a furious battle among the front-guard runners, and then had to hold off the advances of Frijns – who had swept past di Grassi on lap 29 in his bid for victory.
But a late safety car for the stricken Mahindra of Alexander Sims, who hit the wall at Turn 6 and came to a stop, bunched up the field – arguably more than expected, as the field was momentarily stopped at the top of the hill as the safety car waited for the recovery vehicle.
