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Dutch driver Rinus van Kalmthout won the second race at the Dubai Autodrome to close in on Championship leader Felipe Drugovich in the 2017 MRF Challenge.
Drugovich was running in 2nd place but had an electric problem on the last corner of the last lap and dropped down to 9th place. van Kalmthout surged ahead of Louis Gachot and Julien Falchero. Drugovich earlier won the first race by moving ahead of Alex Karkosik and van Kalmthout. Drugovich has a two point lead over van Kalmthout.
Qualifying got the engines roaring to start the day and it was initially a two-way battle between Martono and Drugovich. With three minutes to go on the clock, Drugovich set a time of 1:55.867. Martono struck back and set a 1:55.861 to go 0.006 secs faster. He further improved his time to confirm his pole position. Karkosik qualified in 3rd place ahead of van Kalmthout and Julien Falchero.
Martono could not capitalise on his start as he got bogged down and allowed the top guys to go past him. Drugovich had the perfect start and led comfortably into the first corner. Karkosik slotted into 2nd place ahead of van Kalmthout and Falchero.
Also Read: 2017 Dubai MRF Challenge - Presley Martono fastest in tight practice session
Martono dropped down to 6th place but passed Harri Jones by the end of the first lap. Drugovich was unchallenged as he coasted to his third win of the season. van Kalmthout cruised to the fastest lap of the race and closed in on Karkosik. However, he was unable to pass the Polish driver and had to settle for 3rd place. Falchero finished ahead of Martono, with Gachot overtaking Jones to finish in 6th place.
In the reverse grid based second race, Gachot led from start but had a fast starting van Kalmthout right behind him. The 17-year old moved into 2nd place from 4th on the grid and wasted no time hunting down Gachot. He passed Gachot into turn 12 on lap 3 and pulled away at the front. Drugovich impressed the most starting from 6th on the grid. He first passed Karkosik and Martono on lap 4, before getting past Falchero on lap 6. He soon passed Gachot as well but race leader van Kalmthout was too far ahead to catch.
The Dutch driver crossed the finish line in first place but there was drama behind him. Drugovich slowed as he entered the last corner, slowing down a stream of cars all battling to finish on the podium. Gachot managed to hold on to 2nd place, finishing 0.074secs ahead of Falchero. Martono, who had another tough start, finished in 4th place ahead of Danial Frost and Jones. Drugovich limped across the line in 9th place.
Championship leader Felipe Drugovich said, "I was having a great race having passed 4 cars until I suffered an electric problem on the final corner. It is a shame as we lost valuable points. I am happy that we managed to win Race 1. Leading the championship is good and I hope we can do well tomorrow.”
After a tough qualifying, Rinus van Kalmthout was happy to finish the day with a double podium. He quipped, "I did not get my lap together in qualifying and that put me on the backfoot. The car was great and I managed to finish 3rd in the first race. In race 2 I knew I had the pace and once I passed Gachot it was just a matter of maintaining my pace."
