Offaly teenager Alex Dunne seals second win of season at Imola to move top of F2 standings
The 18-year-old Rodin Motorsport driver, who recently tested a McLaren Formula 1 car at Zandvoort, executed a near-flawless race strategy from fifth on the grid. A string of decisive overtakes saw him move into the lead on lap 27 of 35 and hold his nerve to the flag. The win moves Dunne six points clear at the top of the F2 standings.
His early pit stop proved pivotal and when the Safety Car bunched up the field on lap 15, the McLaren junior took full advantage, picking off his rivals with clean, clinical manoeuvres. From there, he managed the race superbly, crossing the line ahead of the Hitech GP duo of Luke Browning and Ferrari junior Dino Beganovic.
'I don't even know what to say, so far we have won two out of three feature races, I couldn't be happier to be honest, especially to do it in a place like Imola. I won here before in F4, to do in now in F2 feels extra special,' Dunne said afterwards.
'There's no place like it when you see all the fans and all the people waving Irish flags waving at me, yeah, there's no place like it."
Dunne also took fifth place in Saturday's Sprint Race, adding four more points to his weekend tally. He now leads the championship by six points from Browning, with Monte Carlo next on the calendar, one of the most iconic but demanding circuits in motorsport.
Asked about his championship lead, Dunne was philosophical. 'Leading the championship is cool but leading at the end of the of the 14 weekends of the year is what matters,' he added.
With two wins in the opening four rounds, the Irishman has now put himself firmly in the title fight, with the attention that brings moving his F1 dream a little closer.
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