Câmara Wins Feature Race 2 After Dunne’s Pit-Entry Penalty as Title Lead Grows to Seven

Rafael Câmara took Feature Race 2 in Baku after Alexander Dunne’s five-second pit-entry white-line penalty dropped the Rodin driver from on-track winner to third. Nikola Tsolov finished second with fastest lap, and Câmara’s championship lead grew from one point to seven as Round 12 closed.

Baku’s supersized Round 12 ended the way Feature Race 1 had begun to suggest: with Rafael Câmara back in control of the Drivers’ Championship. The Invicta driver was classified winner of Saturday’s Feature Race 2 after Alexander Dunne took the chequered flag on track, then lost the win to a five-second time penalty for crossing the pit-entry white line — the same offence that had cost Nikola Tsolov a grid drop into this race.

Câmara’s race time was 59:57.958 over the full 29 laps. Tsolov finished 0.747s back with the fastest-lap point included for 19 points, and Dunne was classified third at +4.310s once the penalty was applied. Martinius Stenshorne, starting from Qualifying 2 pole, took fourth; Laurens van Hoepen completed the top five. After the race the stewards investigated Dunne for an alleged yellow-flag infringement at Turn 16 on Lap 9 and took no further action, leaving the classification unchanged.

Stenshorne leads, Bennett brings the Safety Car

The Qualifying 2 grid put Stenshorne on pole with Dunne alongside and Câmara third. Tsolov started 11th after a three-place grid drop — the conversion of his unserved five-second pit white-line penalty from Feature Race 1.

Stenshorne led from lights out. The first Safety Car arrived on Lap 1 after John Bennett went out at Turn 1. The restart came on Lap 3; Câmara challenged Dunne for second and held third under pressure from Noel León while Stenshorne controlled the front.

VSC trap, then Câmara and Tsolov’s longer first stint

On Lap 7 Ritomo Miyata stopped on circuit. Dunne alone among the front-runners dived for the pits expecting a full Safety Car. Only a Virtual Safety Car followed, and he rejoined around 16th with limited immediate recovery. Another yellow soon followed when Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak hit the pit wall and stopped; Stenshorne and Gabriele Minì were among those who pitted without a full Safety Car advantage.

Câmara and Tsolov stayed out longer. Both stopped on Lap 11; Câmara emerged with the net lead and Tsolov climbed strongly from his deep starting slot. Dunne, on fresher tyres, then passed Câmara for the on-track lead — only for stewards to note him on Lap 14 for crossing the pit-entry white line. A five-second time penalty followed.

Tsolov to the podium, Câmara closes — Dunne loses the win

Through Laps 21–22 Tsolov passed Stenshorne for net podium position and ran third on track. In the closing stages Câmara hunted Dunne, the gap shrinking to around six tenths by Lap 25. Tsolov clipped the wall on Lap 28 without lasting damage. On the final lap Dunne took the chequered flag first on the road, but the five-second penalty dropped him to third. Câmara was classified winner; Tsolov took second at +0.747s.

Stenshorne held fourth from pole. Van Hoepen finished fifth, Mari Boya sixth, Sprint winner Dino Beganovic seventh, León eighth, Minì ninth after climbing from deep in the grid, and Roman Bilinski tenth. Retirements included Bennett, Miyata, Inthraphuvasak and Rafael Villagómez.

Championship after the Baku weekend

Câmara leaves Azerbaijan on 207 points. Tsolov is second on 200 — seven points adrift after arriving at Feature Race 2 one point behind. Dunne sits third on 189, 18 points off the lead. Gabriele Minì is fourth on 163; Beganovic fifth on 137.

In the teams’ standings Campos lead on 333 from Invicta on 297 and Rodin on 296. MP Motorsport (200) and DAMS Lucas Oil (173) complete the top five after a weekend that also delivered Beganovic’s Sprint win and Dunne’s Feature Race 1 victory.

Baku closed — title fight tightens

Round 12’s three races — Beganovic’s Sprint, Dunne’s Feature 1 Rodin 1–2, and Câmara’s Feature 2 win under penalty — leave the championship with a clear top three and little margin for error. The Feature Race 2 result stands: Dunne kept third after the stewards closed his yellow-flag case with no further action, and Câmara’s seven-point lead holds as the series looks ahead.