Formula 3: Camara wins again in Bahrain

The Brazilian Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy student took his second win of the season in the Sakhir Feature Race, having started from pole. Taponen celebrated his maiden podium in the category.

Rafael Camara was definitely the man to beat in the second round of the Formula 3 championship and now heads the standings with twice as many points as the second placed driver. His win in the Feature Race from pole proved he is on great form in this his rookie Formula 3 season.

Fears banished. “I was a bit worried at the start as I’d had problems at the start in the Sprint Race and I wanted to get off the line well,” said Rafa. “When the lights went out I lost a place but I knew I had great pace and so in the opening laps I watched where I could attack to retake the lead and everything went perfectly. It was a close race and we knew tyre management wouldn’t be easy here, so I have to thank the team for doing a great job. I am very happy because this result is a reward for all the teamwork at Trident and the Academy.” Camara now has 56 points at the top of the table.

Tuukka all smiles. Tuukka Taponen is now seventh in the championship after scoring 20 points over the weekend, through a third place finish in the Sprint Race and a fourth in the Feature Race. After a difficult weekend in Melbourne, all the work the Finn did with his team paid off and there was a clear step up in pace, which bodes well for the rest of the season. 

Sprint Race. It was extremely hot for the start, the air at 38 degrees, the track at 52. The inverted grid meant that, having secured pole position, Camara started from 12th and Taponen was seventh. Rafael’s race did not start well as the engine stalled and he was last off the line. Taponen got away well, fifth at the end of the opening lap and fourth after a restart following the first safety car. On lap 11, he moved up to third having passed Martinius Stenshorne and he kept the position to the chequered flag. 

Feature Race. In this morning’s main race, Camara did not make the most of starting from pole, as he dropped to second behind Callum Voisin, but Rafa eventually came out on top after a closely fought duel, retaking the lead with a move at turn 1 on lap 5. Camara had to deal with Voisin within DRS range for three laps before the Brazilian pushed on, setting the fastest race lap and pulling out a lead of over two seconds. He then controlled the race, taking the chequered flag to win by six seconds. Taponen also had a strong race, having started sixth he was up to fifth by the end of the opening lap. The Finn then passed Charlie Wurz to go third but in the closing stages he had to deal with tyre wear and dropped back to fourth at the flag.