Race 2 at Vallelunga proved to be one of the most thrilling contests of the early season. Despite the championship still being in its early stage, it’s already delivering top-tier excitement. Kean Nakamura-Berta continued his perfect streak, clinching his fifth win after having took part in as many races. This latest triumph was particularly spectacular, as he secured P1 with a superb start that allowed him to exit Turn 1 in the lead. From there, he defended fiercely against Sebastian Wheldon’s relentless attacks.
The two Prema Racing drivers put on a stunning show for fans, with Wheldon launching a series of precision attacks that brought his front wing perilously close to the Japanese driver’s gearbox. The battle remained fair throughout, culminating in a heart-stopping final lap. Wheldon briefly ran off track following a last-ditch attempt, with Tomass Stolcermanis, who was running third at the time, trying to capitalise. Unfortunately for him, Wheldon’s reentry left no room, forcing the Latvian off as well. That allowed Gabriel Gomez of US Racing to snatch third place in a breathtaking photo finish.
Italian driver Emanuele Olivieri (R-ace GP) claimed fifth and set the fastest lap of the race (1’34.958). Competing in his first race of the weekend, Olivieri fought hard for points and was even in the podium mix during the early laps. He was locked in a tight battle with Maksimilian Popov (Van Amersfoort Racing) and Alex Powell (R-ace GP), who eventually crossed the line in sixth and seventh. Every point-paying position in Race 2 was fiercely contested. Rounding out the top ten were the three Rookie podium finishers: Artem Severiukhin (Jenzer Motorsport) stood on the top step, followed by Newman Chi (Prema Racing) and Dante Vinci (Van Amersfoort Racing).
Special mention goes to pole-sitter David Cosma-Cristofor (PHM AIX Racing), who finished 12th behind Kabir Anurag (US Racing) after a chaotic race that saw the safety car deployed on the opening lap. Cosma-Cristofor was starting only his fifth-ever car race after a successful karting career. He moved up one position after Anurag received a 15-second penalty for contact with Vinci. A further 25-second penalty was handed to Elia Luis Weiss (CRAM Motorsport) for causing the retirement of David Walther (Maffi Racing) on lap 1. Phil Colin Strenge (AS Motorsport) was also penalized, receiving five seconds for overtaking under the safety car.
Among the most spectacular fights was the scrap between Salim Hanna (Prema Racing), Andrija Kostic (US Racing) and Oleksandr Savinkov (R-ace GP), as the trio battled hard on the fringes of the top ten.
Kean Nakamura-Berta: “It was a chaotic race. There was a lot of wheelspin at the start, especially on the front row where the track was still in the shade, but it wasn’t easy from the second row either. I think everyone struggled off the line, especially the pole-sitter. I managed to take the lead, but from there it wasn’t easy. We had some issues with the car. We tried a setup change that didn’t work out, so it was a bit of a gamble. I did my best; it was tough and definitely the hardest race I’ve had so far. Hopefully, I won’t have too many more like this! We should be in better shape by reverting to the previous setup. The headwind heading into Turn 4 is crazy; you can have half a second in hand and still find someone right on your gearbox by the time you get to the corner. It makes everything incredibly difficult. Still, I’m very happy with the result. Massive thanks to the team. Five wins in a row, it’s quite good!”
Sebastian Wheldon: “It was a good race. Overall, I just didn’t quite have enough to make the pass, but I’m still pleased. The pace was really strong, especially considering how hard it is to follow closely on this track. Hopefully, we can find a bit more speed. Huge thanks to my engineer Philip, and everyone who supports me. A massive thanks to Prema Racing for giving me the best car possible.”
Gabriel Gomez: “It was a really tough race. We got off to a good start and moved up to P4 from sixth on the grid, but then I lost a position on the first lap. It wasn’t easy to recover. Once I got back to fourth, the pace was similar to the guys in front. I struggled a bit early on, but we were really quick in the second half. The last two laps were complete chaos, everyone was fighting. On the final lap, the two cars ahead of me ran wide, and I managed to overtake into third. It’s a solid result, starting sixth and making the podium is not bad. Now we’ll keep working to do even better in the final race.”
