SPRINT RACE: Duerksen dominates to take maiden Formula 2 victory in Baku

Joshua Duerksen put in a stellar performance on Saturday afternoon to go from fourth to the top step in the Baku Sprint Race, giving the AIX Racing driver his first Formula 2 victory.

The Paraguayan managed his way through a dramatic race to win by over three seconds from DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford, while PREMA Racing’s debutant Gabriele Minì held off Victor Martins across the line to take P3.

AS IT HAPPENED

A strong start for pole-sitter Christian Mansell saw him keep the lead early on while Minì was up to second from third. It was a slow getaway for front row starter Crawford as he dropped to fourth by Turn 1, with Duerksen getting ahead of him for third.

At the start of Lap 2, Zane Maloney was looking to overtake Kush Maini for fifth but after struggling to get on the power at the exit of Turn 2, Martins took advantage to get P6.

Mansell was working hard to get out of DRS range to Minì. However, he locked up heading into Turn 15 on Lap 6, putting the PREMA driver right on his tail. The Italian used DRS to his advantage before diving down the inside at Turn 1 to take the lead.

The Australian tried to fight back but just did not have the pace and by the end of Lap 7 lost out to Duerksen, leaving him third.

Further back, Martins tried to go round the outside of Maini for P5 but lost momentum on the exit of Turn 1, allowing Maloney to get back past for sixth.

But the Bajan struggled to pull away from the ART Grand Prix driver, with Martins using his pace to get back up to P6 after going down the inside at Turn 3 on Lap 11.

The drivers were beginning to attack now as after slowly closing in for a few laps, Duerksen used his strong straight-line speed to take the lead from Minì at Turn 1 on Lap 13.

Moments later, Martins got ahead of Maini for P5, while Maloney lost out to Gabriel Bortoleto for seventh. The Rodin Motorsport driver appeared to have suffered damage earlier after colliding with the barrier at Turn 5.

By Lap 14, Duerksen had checked out in front and was over three and a half seconds clear, with Minì now P2. Mansell then lost two positions to Crawford and Martins at Turn 1, before a Safety Car was called upon with Ritomo Miyata in the barrier at Turn 3.

The Rodin driver attempted to dive down the inside of Dennis Hauger for P12, but was too late on the brakes and went straight into the wall.

We returned to racing on Lap 18, and Duerksen kept the lead, though Minì ran wide after struggling for grip at Turn 1, allowing Crawford to take P2.

But there was drama behind as Mansell and Bortoleto collided at Turn 3, sending the Invicta driver into the barrier, although he continued on to take P5.

The Trident driver then lost out with Paul Aron and Antonelli getting ahead of him, dropping him down to P8.

Out in front, Duerksen had built up a lead of over a second and a half by the start of Lap 20 of 21, while Martins was closing in on Minì in the battle for the final spot on the podium.

Heading on to the final lap, Duerksen was over three seconds out in front before crossing the line to take his first Formula 2 victory.

Crawford followed him home to finish second, while Minì held off Martins across the line by 0.020s to finish on the podium. Bortoleto ended up fifth ahead of Aron, while Antonelli took seventh ahead of debutant Mansell.

KEY QUOTE – Joshua Duerksen, AIX Racing

“First win of the season for me, really happy, really grateful for the team for the great work they have done, also to the sponsors who make this possible and also to God for giving me this opportunity. I am still processing this everything but this was a really great race, I felt confident, car felt good, we have the pace, and hopefully we can do the same tomorrow.”

THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Isack Hadjar retains his lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship with 165 points, but Gabriel Bortoleto has closed to within 6.5 points ahead of Sunday’s Feature Race. Zane Maloney is third on 135 points, with Paul Aron staying fourth but moving to 127 points, while Jak Crawford continues to round out the top five on 113.

In the Teams’ Standings, Invicta Racing add four more points to their tally and now sit on 232.5 points while Campos Racing stay second on 208. MP Motorsport are third with 179.5 points while Rodin Motorsport are fourth on 164. PREMA Racing are now on 157 points allowing them to jump ahead of Hitech Pulse-Eight for fifth place.

UP NEXT

Next up is the Baku Feature Race which is set to get underway on Sunday morning at 11:35 local time.