In a three-way battle for the lead, Tsolov got the best exit at the penultimate corner to take the win. Van Hoepen claimed his second podium of the year for TRIDENT, holding off Rodin Motorsport’s Dunne, who finished third.
AS IT HAPPENED
It was a great start for pole-sitter Tsolov, who stayed ahead of van Hoepen in P2 on the run down to Turn 1. However, Oliver Goethe’s slow start dropped him from P3 to P9 by the end of Lap 1. Further down the field, Colton Herta was on the move, making a bold pass to the inside of John Bennett at Turn 16 to go up to P13.
The top four drivers of Tsolov, van Hoepen, Joshua Duerksen and Nico Varrone were pulling away from Dunne in fifth by the end of Lap 2, with the race leader having to go defensive into Turn 17. As Lap 4 got underway, Dunne closed to within seven-tenths of Varrone, while van Hoepen was coming under pressure from Duerksen for second.
Duerksen was the first of the leading pack to make a move, going to the inside of van Hoepen at Turn 17 after the TRIDENT driver had a slide at the exit of the previous corner. But van Hoepen was back in P2 by the end of Lap 6, capitalising on the Invicta driver going too deep at Turn 15. On Lap 9, Tsolov had a moment at the Turn 14 chicane, allowing van Hoepen to close in on his gearbox. But the Campos driver held firm in defence once again at Turn 17.
At the end of Lap 13, Tsolov’s resistance was broken, with van Hoepen going to the outside of the Bulgarian to take P1. The top two were two seconds clear by the start of Lap 15, with Duerksen and Varrone now battling for third, as Dunne closed in on the podium fight. By the end of the lap, Tsolov retook the lead with a move to the inside at Turn 17, while Dunne’s charge began with an overtake on Varrone for P4.
It was back and forth between the top two as van Hoepen used the DRS to get ahead into Turn 11. A few corners later however Tsolov was back in the lead, as Duerksen and Dunne started to close the gap. Dunne then dived to the inside of Duerksen at Turn 1 on Lap 18 but he ran too deep, allowing the Paraguayan to take back the place, dropping both 2.6s behind the leading pair. Their battling meant that by the start of Lap 19, a DRS train had formed, with Duerksen leading a group that included Dunne, Varrone, Martinius Stenshorne, Gabriele Minì, Dino Beganovic and Noel León. The Irishman then went to the inside of Duerksen at the popular Turn 17 to take third.
Tsolov was still proving a tough obstacle for van Hoepen, as the Bulgarian defended the lead at the penultimate corner and at the start of Lap 21. Van Hoepen was then given the hurry up over the TRIDENT radio, and he obliged by diving to the inside at Turn 17, but once again the Campos rookie held on. Dunne had now gained a second on the top two after gaining third.
The TRIDENT driver was 0.2s behind Tsolov at the start of the final lap, with Dunne now also within DRS range. Van Hoepen used that to his advantage to take the lead around the outside at Turn 11. However Tsolov had DRS going into the back straight and dived to the inside of van Hoepen at Turn 17, with Dunne next to them, leaving them in a three-way battle to the line. But with the better exit, the Campos driver was first to the line giving him his second win of the season.
Van Hoepen held off Dunne for P2, with Varrone having made a late move on Duerksen to finish in P4. Stenshorne finished sixth ahead of Minì, with Beganovic taking the final point in eighth.
KEY QUOTE – Nikola Tsolov, Campos Racing
“The race was really tough, probably the toughest physically, everyone struggled quite a lot, but I was well prepared. It was very exciting because the DRS zones were very powerful, there was an opportunity to overtake every lap, and every straight. It was intense, was tough, but I am glad to come away with the win, just at the last corner. So I suggest everyone go watch the race and enjoy it.”
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Nikola Tsolov, now on 35 points, extends his lead at the top of the Drivers' Championship, with TRIDENT’s Laurens van Hoepen up to second, nine points behind. Rafael Câmara is third on 18 points, just ahead of his Invicta Racing teammate Joshua Duerksen who has 15 points, with Hitech’s Ritomo Miyata a point behind in fifth.
In the Teams’ Standings, Campos Racing lead the way with 43 points, with Invicta Racing second on 33. TRIDENT are third with 26 points, just ahead of MP Motorsport on 21, as Hitech round out the top five on 20.
UP NEXT
Sunday’s Feature Race is next on the agenda with the drivers set to go wheel-to-wheel in Miami one final time at 12:30 local time.
