Ireland's Alex Dunne produces masterful wet drive at Spa-Francorchamps to claim victory and move top of F2 Championship
The Belgian track, where Jordan had their first Formula 1 race win when Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher secured a famous one-two in similar conditions 27 years ago, now has another Irish success to add to its storied history.
With his main championship rivals starting down the grid, Dunne made the most of his pole position advantage after a formation lap behind the safety car due to the conditions, before a rolling start eventually got the action underway.
The McLaren junior managed the early laps well, building a comfortable lead before being called into the pits as his wet tyres began to degrade. Upon rejoining, he came under immediate pressure from Invicta Racing's Roman Stanek, but defended strongly to retain his position as effective race leader.
The 19-year-old then found himself behind MP Motorsport's Ollie Goethe, who had yet to pit, but made a superb overtake around the outside to set up what looked like a straightforward run to the finish.
However, a late-race safety car bunched up the field with just five laps remaining after Sebastian Montoya aquaplaned and spun across the track before stalling. A further incident behind the safety car when Goethe's engine blew led to the race being red-flagged and declared with one lap to go, confirming Dunne as the winner.
Red Bull Junior Arvid Lindblad was second and Czech driver Roman Stanek completed the podium in third.
"I had to work really hard for that one," Dunne said afterwards. "It was really tough."
The result moves Dunne ahead of Richard Verschoor at the top of the championship standings by 15 points after Verschoor and title rival Jak Crawford both failed to score.
There are now five rounds remaining in the season with Dunne returning to action next weekend at the Hungaroring in Budapest as the title battle heats up.
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