Formula 3: A dominant Camara takes pole and a win in Barcelona

At the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit, the Brazilian won the Feature Race, his third success of the season. Taponen was out of luck, leaving Spain with no points.

Monaco was a one-off as Rafael Camara returned to winning ways at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit, starting with pole position, then taking the win in the main event and setting the fastest race lap, consolidating his championship lead. He now has four pole positions and three wins, all in the Feature Race, to his name. On 105 points, he is 26 ahead of second placed Nikola Tsolov from Bulgaria.  

Rapid recovery. The Barcelona weekend got off on the wrong foot, as Camara, starting the Sprint Race from 12th, drove into the back of Tuukka Taponen who had stalled on the grid. Obviously, the incident marked the end of the race for both Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy students. However, 24 hours later, Camara produced an impeccable performance. “It was important to react immediately after the misfortune in Monaco,” commented Rafael. “In Friday free practice I soon found a good feeling with the car and that allowed me to take pole, and today everything was perfect. I knew the start would be key, as were the two restarts after the Safety Car, and I managed all of these moments without any problems. I’m very happy, the team did a great job and I think today’s win is an important step forward in terms of the championship.”

Tuukka. Taponen was just unlucky this weekend. After having to retire from the Sprint Race following the collision, Tuukka today got a great start which saw him close in on the podium places. However, after a few laps, his car developed a downshifting problem which meant he had to slow and allow the car to reset itself, after which it began to function properly again. However, by the then the Finn had dropped down the order and finished 19th. Despite not scoring, Tuukka is still fifth in the championship on 51 points.

Feature Race. Camara got off the line well, to grab the inside line going into the first corner to keep the lead. Tuukka also got a great start, making up no fewer than five places to run fourth. The Safety Car came out on lap 2 following a collision between Jose Garfias and Roman Bilinski. After six laps, the race resumed and Rafael managed the restart well, fending off Laurens Van Hoepen, while Taponen suddenly slowed because of a gearbox problem. The Safety Car reappeared on lap 19, closing up the pack once more, but once again Camara managed the restart well and kept the lead to the chequered flag.