Formula 2 News: Duerksen takes Sprint victory in Melbourne

Joshua Duerksen was in impressive form on Saturday afternoon in Melbourne, taking the lead at the start of the Sprint Race before going on to take a commanding victory at Albert Park.

The AIX Racing driver managed two Safety Car restarts and held off Invicta Racing’s Leonardo Fornaroli to win the race. The Italian came across the line in second ahead of Hitech TGR’s Luke Browning, who rounded out the podium.

AS IT HAPPENED

Duerksen made a brilliant start from second on the grid, getting ahead of pole-sitter Fornaroli as soon as the lights went out, while Browning kept a hold of P3.

Browning’s Hitech TGR teammate Dino Beganovic however, had dropped from P4 to P6 on the run down to Turn 1, with Richard Verschoor and Roman Stanek overtaking the Swede.

The Virtual Safety Car was then deployed at the start of Lap 3, Victor Martins having stopped at Turn 6. The ART Grand Prix driver hit the barrier at the exit of Turn 5, and with a damaged suspension, his race came to end.

With Martins’ car removed, racing resumed on Lap 4. But Fornaroli was slow to react and came under pressure from Browning, although he was able to hold on P2.

There was another Invicta/Hitech battle ongoing, as Beganovic went around the outside of Stanek at Turn 11 to go up to fifth.

At the same corner, moments later, Gabriele Minì dived down the inside of Campos Racing’s Josep María Martí for eighth.

The Safety Car was deployed moments later on Lap 7, TRIDENT’s Max Esterson having spun into the gravel at Turn 6.

Racing resumed at the start of Lap 11, and Duerksen showed good pace and was over a second clear of Fornaroli in second by the end of the lap.

Onto Lap 12 of 23, and while battling for fifth with Stanek, Beganovic spun at the exit of Turn 9. He was able to continue on his way, but dropped down to P17.

Out in front, Duerksen continued to extend the lead and by the end start of Lap 14, he was 2.1s clear of Fornaroli, who was still coming under attack from Browning as well as Verschoor.

TRIDENT’s day was made worse however as Sami Meguetounif spun off into the gravel at Turn 10, bringing out the second Safety Car.

We were back to green flag conditions at the start of Lap 17 of 23, and once again Duerksen did a good job on the restart. The AIX driver was over a second ahead of Fornaroli by the end of the lap.

The Paraguayan continued to extend his lead out front, while Fornaroli continued to hold off a DRS train that went down to Alexander Dunne in P10.

As the drivers headed onto the penultimate lap, the entire top 10 was covered by six seconds, as Dunne made his way past Arvid Lindblad to go to ninth.

But out in front, Duerksen cruised to the chequered flag, winning the first Sprint Race of the year ahead of Fornaroli, as Browning took the final spot on the podium.

Verschoor finished fourth ahead of Stanek, followed by the PREMA Racing pairing of Sebastián Montoya and Minì, with Martí taking the final point in P8.

KEY QUOTE – Joshua Duerksen, AIX Racing

“Very happy with the result today, P1. Finished the season last year with a victory and starting the season with a victory is always a great feeling. So, really happy, car was great, I was struggling a bit at the beginning but then I could find myself and have good pace. So very thankful to all the team, my sponsors, to God, and just enjoying this moment.”

THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Joshua Duerksen takes the early lead in the Drivers’ Championship, with 10 points gained from his victory. Behind him is Leonardo Fornaroli on eight points, with Luke Browning third on six. Rounding out the top five is Richard Verschoor in fourth and Roman Stanek.

With both drivers finishing in the top five, reigning Champions Invicta Racing take the early lead in the Teams’ Standings on 12 points, ahead of AIX Racing who have 10 points. Hitech TGR and PREMA Racing are tied on six points in third and fourth, while MP Motorsport round out the top five.

Race results (23 laps)