Pepe Martí wins action-packed F2 sprint race at Bahrain grand prix
Spaniard Pepe Martí charged from 11th on the grid to victory in a frantic FIA Formula 2 sprint race at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
SAKHIR–Pepe Martí stormed through the field in a hectic sunset session in Bahrain to take victory in the FIA Formula 2 sprint race.
The Spaniard started 11th and repeated his form in last year's race to make the most of the conditions and the action ahead to put his Campos Racing car exactly where it needed to be to guarantee maximum points at the chequered flag.
"I'll have to rewatch it to tell you [what happened], honestly," said the Spaniard.
"It was a crazy race from start to end, I was fighting with Alex [Dunne] for about four laps and looking in my mirrors...
"I think we managed it pretty well. I was just taking my chances, and in the last few laps honestly it was a lottery, like there was not much I could do.
"I think we have a lot of pace and today we proved that, and we did a really great race."
Joshua Dürksen held his lead from the reverse-grid start into turn one but after a brief safety car interruption he was under pressure from Dino Beganovic, who had started second and stayed squarely on the tail of the leader.
Beganovic was quickly past the Paraguayan and into the lead as the two drivers built a gap to those behind, but it was for nothing when the stranded car of Max Esterson brought out the safety car once again.
Several teams, mainly those with drivers out of the points, threw the dice in the safety car period to pit for new tyres on the high degradation circuit, setting up a blockbuster finish to the 23-lap race.
The race then came alive after the restart, with Dürksen passing Beganovic for the lead after strategically holding back to protect his tyres.
Suddenly Marti was into second after a move from Richard Verschoor opened the door on Beganovic, and the Red Bull driver was vying for the lead.
Marti had made his way to the rear of a battle for fourth between Alex Dunne and Richard Verschoor in the early stage of the race, with Marti running extremely wide on the first straight and onto the sand while battling the aggressive Irishman.
Dunne recovered the position and was through to third soon after, with Verschoor and Marti both following him past Rafael Villagómez in the following laps.
Luke Browning entered the fray as well but made contact with Dunne and the pair dropped out of the lead pack, which was now Dürksen, Beganovic, Verschoor, and Marti.
A speculative move from Verschoor sent Beganovic off-line in the downhill section and both drivers took an exceptionally wide line, with Marti picking up the pieces on the inside and up to second.
With much more pace than his rivals, Marti was on a charge for the lead and made his move on Dürksen into turn one on the final lap, soon followed by Verschoor.
The Campos driver took the chequered flag ahead of Verschoor and Dürksen for a well-earned victory at the head of a frantic sprint race.
Beganovic was fourth, with Oliver Goethe up to fifth and the highest-placed of the runners who made a pit stop under the safety car.
Dürksen maintains his lead of the standings on 16 points, with Verschoor now second on 16 points and Marti jumping to third on 11 points.
Leonardo Fornaroli will start on pole for the feature race at 9.25pm before the Bahrain Grand Prix.
