Nirei Fukuzumi led home an ART Grand Prix 1-2-3 in Jerez as he clinched his first GP3 Series win since the season opener in Barcelona.
The Japanese racer went unchallenged during Race 1, soaring off into the distance before things closed up over the final laps, with team-mate George Russell and Jack Aitken finishing 1.5 seconds adrift of one another.
The victory puts Fukuzumi firmly in the hunt for the title, although it will need some bad luck on Russell's behalf as he still holds a 44-point lead with just three races remaining.
Newcomer Dan Ticktum of DAMS, made a good start and managed to keep up with the leading pace to finish fourth, finishing just five seconds adrift.
Anthoine Hubert was fifth ahead of Niko Kari, who dispatched Dorian Boccolacci at the start for 6th place.
There was little overtaking up and down the field as degradation didn't prove to be much of a concern, partly in thanks to the new track surface, but that didn't stop Giuliano Alesi forcing his way past Alessio Lorandi on the final lap to claim eighth.
However the stewards weren't happy with the move and penalised Alesi with a one-place drop, putting him back to P9 and handing reverse pole to Lorandi for Sunday's Race 2.
Julien Falchero grabbed the final point of the day after blasting past Steijn Schothorst midway through the race.
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