2016 Sepang Sprint Race

The 2016 Kuala Lumpur Race 2, otherwise known as the 2016 Sepang Sprint Race, was the twentieth race of the 2016 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Sepang International Circuit near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on the 2 October 2016. Held in support of the 2016 Malaysia Grand Prix, the race would see Luca Ghiotto sweep to his maiden victory after an early fight with Mitch Evans.

Evans would start the race from pole with Ghiotto alongside, with the pair duly going toe-to-toe into the first corner. Ultimately it was Ghiotto who won out, easing ahead of the Kiwi through turn two to snatch the lead, while Raffaele Marciello watched on from third.

Norman Nato was an early casualty in the opening stages, spinning out of the race after an optimistic dive on teammate Jordan King. The safety car was required to remove the Frenchman's stranded car, before Ghiotto aced the restart to leave Evans fending off Marciello.

Those two would continue to fight for second, although they would not prove to be the centre of attention as the race developed. Instead it was the two Premas who drew the eye, with title protagonists Pierre Gasly and Antonio Giovinazzi scything through the field.

Indeed, the pair would charge through to third and fourth before duelling in the final stages, passing Evans as the Kiwi's tyres faded badly mid-race. Out front, meanwhile, Ghiotto would keep Marciello at arms length, although the latter Italian would start the final lap within striking distance.

Ultimately, however, Marciello would not force his way past his compatriot, meaning Ghiotto duly claimed his first ever GP2 victory. Behind, it was Gasly who won the Prema civil war, although he only managed to cut into teammate Giovinazzi's Championship lead by two points as a result.

Background
There were no changes made to the Sepang International Circuit overnight after the Feature, with the DRS zones deemed adequate after their debut on Saturday. Likewise, there were no changes to the grid, meaning Mitch Evans would start from pole as expected, while Jimmy Eriksson was no where to be seen.

Into the Championship and victory in the Feature had propelled Antonio Giovinazzi to the head of the field with three races to go, overtaking teammate Pierre Gasly. Indeed, a ten point advantage for the latter had been converted into an eleven point lead for the former after the first race in Sepang, with a huge gap back to pack behind. Furthermore, with 65 points left in play it was now effectively a two-horse race for the title, with Raffaele Marciello 32 points off Gasly.

In contrast it was all over in the Teams' Championship, with Prema Racing moving 123 points clear of their pursuers, with just 107 left to fight for after the Feature. That left Racing Engineering and Russian Time to fight for second, with eighteen points between the Spaniards in second and the Russian squad in third. They were still mathematically fighting ART Grand Prix for the runner-up spot, while DAMS were realistically too far back to challenge.

Entry List
The full entry list for the is displayed below:

Grid
The grid for the second GP2 Series race of the Malaysian weekend was arranged according to the results of the Feature Race, with the top eight finishers reversed as per-FIA GP2 Series rules:

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * Canamasas set the fastest lap of the race, but was ineligible to score points as he failed to finish in the top ten.
 * † Sirotkin could not be classified as he failed to complete 90% of the race distance.

Milestones

 * Maiden (and only) victory for Luca Ghiotto in the GP2 Series.
 * Trident claimed their eleventh and final victory in GP2.
 * It was also the Italian squad's first win since the 2014 Red Bull Ring Sprint Race.
 * Fourteenth and final podium finish for Raffaele Marciello.
 * Fifth and final fastest lap recorded by Pierre Gasly.

Standings
With one round and two races to go it was Antonio Giovinazzi who led the title fight, just seven points ahead of teammate Pierre Gasly. Those two were the only drivers capable of taking the crown at the season finale in Abu Dhabi, with Giovinazzi capable of taking the title in the first race. Behind, Raffaele Marciello was set for third, although he would have fend off Sergey Sirotkin to do so.

Prema Racing had been declared as Teams' Champions in the Sepang Feature, meaning all of the attention in Yas Marina would be on the fight for second. Indeed, Racing Engineering and Russian Time were separated by just six points heading to Abu Dhabi, with a maximum of 78 points left in play. ART Grand Prix were therefore still mathematically in the fight, while Arden International were set to claim the wooden spoon at the foot of the table.

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.