GP2 Media Service
Sam Bird claimed a dominant victory in the GP2 feature race in Monaco after the race was red flagged for 40 minutes.
After a 20 minute delay due to accident damage in a preceding race, a pile up at Ste Devote blocked the circuit and forced several cars out of the race.
Pole man Johnny Cecotto made a poor start, allowing team mate Mitch Evans to lead off the line.
As Evans set about extending his lead, Cecotto approached Ste Devote too quickly and hit the wall, taking Fabio Leimer with him.
A secondary incident exacerbated matters and left several drivers helpless.
Cecotto, Leimer, Jolyon Palmer, Julian Leal, Marcus Ericsson, Robin Frijns, Alexander Rossi, Nathaniel Berthon and Kevin Giovesi were all eliminated on the spot.
Others, such as Stefano Coletti and Rio Haryanto, were able to restart after the delay.
At the restart, Evans led away but came under pressure from Bird. Behind the leading duo, others made their compulsory pit stops and began setting faster lap times.
Evans, on the option tyres, pitted soon after, allowing Bird to set a series of quick laps to ensure that he emerged from his pit stop with his lead in tact.
Bird was untroubled as he eased to victory with a 22 second advantage. Kevin Ceccon used the undercut to usurp Evans, while Felipe Nasr and James Calado rounded out the top five.
Championship leader Coletti recovered from the start melee to finish in sixth, ahead of Rene Binder and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs.
The only incident during the restarted race came when Daniel Abt and Haryanto collided at Rascasse, resulting in the Indonesian's retirement.
