Sakhir (Bahrain), Nov 29 (IANS): British driver Rupert Svendsen-Cook made the most of a fine start to win the opening race in the second round of the MRF Challenge at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) here Friday.

Svendsen-Cook got past poleman Tio Ellinas and Arthur Pic into the first corner and held on to the lead in the 10 lap race. French driver Pic overtook Cypriot Ellinas on the last lap to finish second.

Race 2 of the weekend has been pushed to the next round here in December while Race 3 and 4 will take place Saturday.

Svendsen-Cook, who is a multiple race winner in F3, was thrilled about the win.

“To win again in the series, it has done wonders for my confidence and my pace is really good. I saw Pic and Ellinas battling and I decided to go around the outside of turn 1. After that I just had to keep them behind and even though they were quick I managed to hold on for the win,” said Svendsen-Cook, whose first win came in the opening round of the Indian championship at the Buddh International Circuit near Delhi last month.

Safety car was called on Lap 2 after Belgium’s Sam Dejonghe rolled off the track.

Indians Parth Ghorpade and Raj Bharath finished 13th and 14th while Vikash Anand retired at the start with a mechanical problem.

Race 1 results:
1. Rupert Svendsen-Cook 21:32.410s
2. Arthur Pic 0.693
3. Tio Ellinas 1.290
4. Harry Tincknell 5.304
5. Renan Guerra 11.501