Clement Novalak did a fine job in dramatic conditions to his first feature F2 race at Zandvoort from Zane Maloney and Jak Crawford.

The damp conditions meant some went for soft compound to start while some opted for the wet tyres in the feature F2 race at Zandvoort. The Race Control opted for a rolling start and it was disaster already when Virtuosi’s Jack Doohan spun in the final corner.

As the race went green, Prema’s Frederik Vesti spun on his own at Turn 1. Just behind him his teammate Oliver Bearman braked hard to make the corner and Van Amersfoort’s Juan Manuel Correa tapped him to send him on the gravel.

This caught out ART’s Victor Martins too as Hitech GP’s Jak Crawford led the way in feature F2 race from MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger as Carlin’s Zane Maloney was third. Correa ran fourth from Hitech GP’s Isack Hadjar and ART’s Theo Pourchaire.

Campos’ Kush Maini was seventh from DAMS’ Ayumu Iwasa, Trident’s Clement Novalak and Campos’ Ralph Boschung in the Top 10. The safety car was deployed to clear the car of Doohan as the re-start saw Crawford held on to the lead from Hauger.

Iwasa, meanwhile, went for a move on Maini at Turn 1 but couldn’t hold on and made contact. Both Correa and Iwasa were handed a 10s time penalty for causing a collision. The race went on for few laps until the pit stop started for majority of the field.

Pourchaire almost bumped Hadjar while going in but a quick stop from ART allowed him to take track position. It didn’t last for long as the Sauber academy driver lost control and went straight into the barrier to retire and cause a safety car.

The drivers started to pit with Prema opting for a double stack. It was Vesti behind Bearman and seeming the rear wheels were not fitted properly as he lost both of them under the safety car to retire which elongated the safety car period.

The re-start had Novalak in the front as Maloney slotted in second after passing Crawford at the re-start. Van Amersfoort’s Richard Verschoor was up to fourth from Martins who had a fight against Bearman which resulted in a contact between the two.

Bearman passed him at Turn 1 after a squeeze at the exit. Martins came back on him on the bank at Turn 3 taking the inside line while squeezing Bearman onto the barrier. The move was put under investigation with the Brit having to retire.

Martins hung on to fifth from Hauger, Hadjar, Carlin’s Enzo Fittipaldi, Virtuosi’s Amuary Cordeel and PHM Charouz’s Roy Nissany in the Top 10. There was a 5s penalty for safety car infringement for Boschung and MP Motorsport’s Jehan Daruvala.

The Indian complained of something lose in his cockpit too. At the front, it was Novalak cruising in the lead from Maloney, Crawford, Verschoor, Martins, Hauger, Hadjar, Fittipaldi, Cordeel and Correa who passed Nisaany for 10th.

With the multiple safety car periods, the F2 race was converted into a timed race. There was a 10s time penalty for Martins for ‘hindering’ when fighting Bearman. At the front, Novalak held off fine to his first win in the feature F2 race at Zandvoort.

Maloney resisted Crawford’s pressure to retain second with Verschoor a close fourth in the end. Martins was fifth on the road but a time penalty helped Hauger to be fifth from Hadjar, Fittipaldi and Cordeel as Martins slotted in ninth from Correa in the Top 10.

 

More to come

 

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