FEATURE RACE: Dunne fights his way to second win of 2025

Alexander Dunne was in impressive form around Imola, earning his second race win of the 2025 season for Rodin Motorsport.

The McLaren Development Driver went from fifth on the grid and made several important passes throughout the race in crucial moments to earn the victory. Hitech TGR teammates Luke Browning and Dino Beganovic rounded out the podium places.

AS IT HAPPENED

Prior to lights out, Sebastián Montoya stalled on the grid at the beginning of the Formation Lap. It meant P2 was vacated as the PREMA Racing driver was forced to start from the pitlane.

Beganovic aced his launch at the race start, but it was Leonardo Fornaroli on the move, climbing to P2 as Victor Martins was the second staller of the day, the ART Grand Prix driver left stranded on the grid.

Arvid Lindblad capitalised also, taking third ahead of Dunne having started behind the Rodin driver.

With DRS enabled, the top three closed back up and by Lap 6, Beganovic, Fornaroli and Lindblad were covered by less than a second.

The top four were in at the first opportunity to fit the Soft tyres entering Lap 7. Fornaroli lost out in the pitstops, dropping to the back of the quartet, while Dunne gained two places, coming back out behind Beganovic.

Jak Crawford and Luke Browning responded on the following tour, pitting to fit the red-walled tyres and the Briton got the jump on the DAMS Lucas Oil driver to come out ahead.

The Hitech TGR driver rejoined with the effective race lead and right in front of teammate Beganovic, who had Dunne on his rear wing. The Swede attempted to go around the outside of Browning at Tosa, but ran out of room on corner exit, allowing Dunne to split the Hitechs and move up a position.

With DRS on Lap 9, Dunne made the move into Turn 2, clearing Browning into the first chicane to take the effective race lead.

The early pitstops handed P1 over to Josep María Martí, who was fighting with AIX Racing’s Joshua Duerksen as the leading pair on the alternative strategy.

Lap 14 and Duerksen swept around the outside of the Spaniard to take the lead just before a Safety Car was deployed. Rafael Villagómez was left stranded at Turn 4 having sustained damage in a battle with Sami Meguetounif.

Gabriele Minì and John Bennett took the chance to make their mandatory stops and switch to the Supersoft Pirelli tyres. The PREMA driver came out ahead of Lindblad in P11, with Bennett joining the queue just behind Crawford in P15.

The Safety Car was withdrawn entering Lap 19 and Duerksen held onto the lead. Behind them, Dunne was on the move immediately to pass the first of the leading pack yet to pit in Max Esterson.

Browning made the pass into Piratella, but Dunne was through on teammate Amaury Cordeel into Variante Alta to put another car between himself and his closest rival for the win.

Onto Lap 24 and after several attempts, Browning got a move to stick on Cordeel at Turn 2 but once again, Dunne immediately put another car between them, passing Miyata into Tosa with a dive down the inside.

Lap 25 and Dunne was up another position, clearing Roman Stanek into the first chicane to move up to third on the road.

The Rodin driver then cleared Martí on Lap 26 with the same move at Tosa to take second and he quickly closed on race leader Duerksen.

Across the line onto Lap 27, he used DRS to move into P1, with Browning still running fifth behind those yet to pit on the alternative strategy.

Browning moved up to fourth with a pass on Stanek at Turn 2 on Lap 29, with teammate Beganovic passing Cordeel in the same place just behind. Lindblad was able to pounce on an error at Tosa by the Rodin driver to take seventh on the road later in the lap.

Duerksen pitted on Lap 30, and Browning passed Martí at the first chicane to move up to second, but Dunne had escaped up the road to the tune of five seconds.

The Irish driver had things under control and by the chequered flag, crossed the line to win his second Feature Race of the season by over six seconds to Browning and Beganovic.

Lindblad finished fourth ahead of Fornaroli in the top five. Crawford followed in sixth ahead of the MP Motorsport of Oliver Goethe, Montoya and Richard Verschoor in the top 10.

KEY QUOTE – Alexander Dunne, Rodin Motorsport

“Very, very happy. Of course, to do two out of three this year is a pretty good start. It’s important to try and do more and more throughout the year. Both times I’ve won, Luke has been right there next to me. So he seems quite close to me at the minute, so it’s about continuing to perform and being consistent. But I’m really, really happy.”

THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Alexander Dunne takes over the lead of the Drivers’ Championship with his second win, climbing onto 64 points. Luke Browning is now second as he moves onto 58 points, with Richard Verschoor dropping to third on 55. Leonardo Fornaroli is P4 on 52 points, while Arvid Lindblad rounds out the top five on 45.

In the Teams’ Standings, we have new leaders with Hitech TGR overtaking Campos Racing on 87 points to 86. MP Motorsport are third on 67, with Rodin Motorsport on 64 and Invicta Racing completing the top five teams, now on 61.

UP NEXT

We head to Monte Carlo immediately for the second leg of the triple-header. Who will master the legendary streets? Join us and find out from May 22-25.