Qualifying set everything up perfectly; Jan Granqvist, 12 points back of Teien and Meuiner heading into the round, took pole position. Maciej Mlynek was 2nd, with Meuiner 3rd and Teien 4th place on the grid. The returning Adam Maguire, stepping in for Moritz Kropp, was an impressive 5th for FTR, whilst Tom Stevens qualified in 6th place.
Maguire was looking for his 3rd straight Singapore win, but it was looking tricky for him to repeat that as the race got underway. Immediately, it was obvious that Granqvist, Mlynek and Meuiner were underdriving, attempting to extend the first stint and potentially going for a 2 stop strategy. 3 and 4 stop strategies were also viable, although Singapore is a street track and it’s notoriously hard to overtake, despite the 4 DRS zones.
On lap 9, Stevens ducked into the pits, attempting an audacious undercut. Maguire and Teien followed a lap later, but although they came out in clear air, they soon came up to the back of the pack and their progress stalled. Meanwhile, the leaders picked up the pace, and by the time they had all pitted, they came out in and around the THRs. Marquinez managed to hold up the THRs for two laps and Meuiner came out ahead of the yellow and blue cars.
Teien finally cleared the Spark, and Granqvist, who had pitted and come out immediately behind the Norwegian, albeit with a tyre offset of 7 laps, then tried to overtake Marquinez around the outside of turn 9. The Spark driver bounced off the kerb and into Granqvist, and put him into the wall. Granqvist, with heavy damage to his Super Venturi, ended his race, visibly frustrated, at the next corner. A controversial moment in the championship race.
Meanwhile, THR were clearly on a 3 stop, whilst Meunier and Mlynek, on the hards, were looking to 2 stop. The THRs pulled in to make their second stop, and so began the tortoise and the hare chase. Both THRs, with better pace, were struggling to make it through the pack, whilst up front Meuiner and Mlynek were lapping several seconds off their potential pace.
Disaster struck Mlynek on lap 50 – his race ended due to a disconnection. This appeared to affect a couple of other drivers as well, but it put Stevens, Maguire and Teien up into 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Stevens tried to drag Teien along to catch up with Meuiner but it wasn’t to be, and the THRs swapped back around to benefit Teien’s championship, but Meuiner held on to take a much deserved victory. Stevens finished 3rd ahead of Adam Maguire.
Stephane Rouault made up 11 places to take 6th behind Geoffrey Fournier in 5th, who also made the 2 stop strategy work.
THR though have been the overall dominant package and deserve their 3rd straight Team’s title. All eyes now look to the driver’s battle. With 2 rounds to go, Meunier leads by 5 points from Teien. It’s going to be close.
