FRECA – Camara’s convincing win Imola

The Brazilian confirmed his leadership of the series with a thrilling win, two pole positions and a great fight back. Fellow Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy student, Tuukka Taponen is second in the standings with another podium finish.

Maranello, 11 September 2024 –Rafael Camara made his mark at Imola’s Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit, enjoying a great weekend as he extended his lead in the championship. The 19 year old won Race 1 in style, leading from the start before having to wipe out a 5 second penalty for having jumped the start. In the second race he was hit by Taponen at the first corner and rejoined last, but in the few racing laps available managed to work his way up to ninth. “It was a really great weekend,” commented Rafael. “We were very quick right from free practice and steadily improved each time we went out on track. The two qualifying sessions went really well and we have to continue like this and its nice and a real boost to see the result of all our hard work. Then it was of course great to win the first race, the result of many aspects which we have been working on this season. It was a shame about the incident at the start of race 2, but we still managed to move up the order well and score a further two points. Now we focus on Spielberg, a track I like and so I can’t wait to start driving there.”

The standings. After seven of the ten rounds on the calendar, Camara leads on 239 points, followed by Taponen on 178. The Finn’s weekend did not go quite as well as it could have done, even if he finished second in the first race. But in Race 2, he had to retire immediately after the start following a collision with Camara at the Tamburello chicane.

The Stewards gave him a four place grid penalty for this coming weekend’s round in Spielberg. Maya Weug produced a solid performance on her return to the series. Her primary goal was to get used to the car once again, not having driven one since last season and her progress over the weekend should continue in the remaining rounds. The races were tricky and closely contested and Weug saw the flag in both races, finishing the second one in 14th place.