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Neel Jani Wins Dramatic Feature Race at Algarve

Neel Jani might have had everything worked out for him during Race 2 of the Algarve weekend, but winning it sure didn't seem like a picnic for the Swiss driver. The race had hardly started and two of Jani's main rivals for the race win – Sprint Race winner Robert Doornbos and A1 Team Ireland's Adam Carroll – were already out of the winning equation.

Doornbos's car caught fire due to electric problem in the very formation lap and the day was finished for the Dutch driver. Furthermore, Carroll was penalized by the Portuguese officials for jump starting the race, enforcing a drive-through penalty for the Irish driver.

Under the conditions, Portugal's Filipe Albuquerque became Jani's closest rival for the Feature Race win. Although he benefited from the support of his home fans at Algarve, Albuquerque had no saying in Jani's taking the lead following the second pit stops. Not only that, but the Portuguese driver also lost the runner-up spot after a poor final stop from his pit crew, as he rejoined the pack behind Ireland's Carroll.

Thanks to some great driving – combined with two safety car periods – and great pit strategy, Carroll stormed into second place in the final section of the race, but eventually finished less than half of second behind Jani.

However, following a post-race investigation conducted by the Portuguese stewards, it has emerged that Carroll passed the car of A1 team Australia's John Martin under safety car. He was therefore handed a 25-second penalty – dropping him to 5th place – which meant A1 Team Malaysia's Fairuz Fauzy completed the overall podium.

Only 10 drivers completed the Feature Race on Sunday, as several racing incidents eliminated potential race winners like Marco Andretti and Vitantonio Liuzzi. Other drivers caught up in the incidents were Narain Kartikeyan, John Martin, Clivio Piccione, Adrian Zaugg and Earl Bamber.

“There was everything in it (the race). Coming from third, having second, then to the pit stop and getting the lead, losing the lead and having Adam really put me under pressure at the end. We were a bit lucky today and we were very unlucky yesterday so it’s a balance,” said Jani after the race.
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