F.Regional – Camara gets off the mark with an Imola podium

Brazil’s Rafael Camara finished third on his debut in the European series, showing great pace. This made up for the disappointment of being knocked out of the second race.

Rafael Camara showed quality on his debut in the European Formula Regional championship. The 17 year old Ferrari Driver Academy student was a front runner in qualifying and in the races. However, his points tally featured a no-score after he was pushed off the track on the opening lap of Race 2, while lying third. “In the end there were plenty of positives, as I had a good pace in all sessions, even if I was a victim of circumstance and I could have scored many more points than I did. Now, I’m concentrating on the next round in Barcelona, where I’m sure we will line up in even stronger form.” In her outright debut in this category, Maya Weug showed promise, finishing close to the top 10 in Race 2. 

Race-1. In the first qualifying session of the year, Camara posted a time of 1’39”130, fastest in group A, thus securing pole position. However, an hour after the session, the stewards disallowed Rafael’s time for setting it under the yellow flags, which came out after Lorenzo Fluxa spun right in front of the Brazilian. His next best lap, a 1’39”253, was good enough for third on the grid. Weug was 23rd. Rafael stayed third after the start, tucking in behind Kimi Antonelli, but almost immediately, the Safety Car was required for ten of the 30 minutes race duration. It then made a second appearance and with four minutes remaining, what proved to be a very disjointed race was red flagged. It meant Rafael had no opportunity to move up the order, but still finished third. Weug fought in the midfield, to finish her first race in 20th place. 

Race -2. Camara was again right on the pace in second qualifying, second in his group to secure third place on the grid. However, his race was over by the time he got to Tamburello corner, when he was hit by Joshua Dufek, ending up in the barrier on the outside of the gravel trap. It was a disappointing end to his race. There were no fewer than three Safety Car appearances and Weug pulled off a few passing moves to take the chequered flag in 16th place.