Spanish FIA Formula Two Championship racer Ramon Pineiro claimed his first victory in the series with a comfortable win in the second race at Brands Hatch.
Pineiro got the jump on polesitter and championship leader Mirko Bortolotti off the line to take the lead, with the Italian then having to defend his second place from Jack Clarke at Paddock Hill Bend.
The leading trio pulled away from the rest of the field, with 19-year-old Pineiro maintaining a comfortable margin over Bortolotti to secure the victory, which comes after a tough start to his first full season in the category.
“It’s just fantastic,” said Pineiro afterwards. “Coming from a series of disasters that have happened all the way through to then turn it around at Brands Hatch, both yesterday and the win today, is just great and a boost for the next rounds.”
Bortolotti seemed to settle for second place as he extends his championship lead, not needing to take any major risks. Clarke came home third to complete a strong weekend for him on home soil after also becoming a first-time winner on Saturday.
Mihai Marinescu finished over twenty seconds behind the winner in fourth place, ahead of Tobias Hegewald. Armaan Ebrahim held off title contender Christopher Zanella to finish sixth. Benjamin Lariche was eighth, with Miki Monras in ninth just ahead of Jordan King.
Monras had been running fourth but spun at Westfield, dropping him down the order. The Spaniard was able to fight his way back into the points before taking ninth from King.
A poor weekend for his nearest rival Zanella has allowed Bortolotti to extend his points lead to 36 points over the Swiss driver. The next round takes place at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on 26-28 August.
Race results – 28 laps:
1. Ramon Pineiro, 36m35.314s
2. Mirko Bortolotti, +1.484s
3. Jack Clarke, +3.511s
4. Mihai Marinescu, +21.605s
5. Tobias Hegewald, +25.736
6. Aramaan Ebrahim, +31.305s
7. Christopher Zanella, +31.745s
8. Benjamin Lariche, +38.710s
9. Miki Monras, +39.362s
10. Jordan King, +39.920s
Championship standings after 5 of 8 rounds:
1. Mirko Bortolotti, 187 points
2. Christopher Zanella, 151
3. Miki Monras, 108
4. Will Bratt, 92
5. Tobias Hegewald, 91
6. Jack Clarke, 82
