Kiwi teen Evans tops GP3 standings

Teenage New Zealand motor racing driver Mitch Evans has snatched the lead in the European GP3 series by a point after finishing third in the opening race of the weekend in Valencia, Spain this morning.

The 17-year-old Evans was fourth fastest in qualifying and improved a place to finish 7.4 seconds behind the winner, England's Adrian Quaife-Hobbs and less than a second back from MW Arden teammate Lewis Williamson.

But the podium finish was enough to see Evans, who started the round third in the standings, to take over the lead in the championship by a point from the Netherlands' Nigel Melker who failed to finish the 14-lap race.

Evans, who turned 17 on Friday, starts the second race of the round this evening (NZT) in sixth place in a reverse top eight grid.

- NZPA