By Amir Oates and Toby Davis
While previously it had the honour of hosting the final round of the championship, despite it being bumped up earlier than last year, there was always going to be heavy championship implications for whoever could deliver. At the top of the championships, Sandeep Singh and Potentia both needed esults to clinch both championships and not leave it to Abu Dhabi, and the absence of Junio Lopes, and one less KAP Clay car made it all the more likely they could achieve their goals.
It might’ve been a bit close for comfort, but Sandeep secured pole position by 3 hundredths as last minute improvements from Skinner, Czerwinski and Bernat that all looked to be faster than Singh, couldn’t beat the Indian to pole position. His teammate Scarpelli managed to secure a top 5 position.
For race 1, we have seen a lot of intense race starts in Formula Sprint 2 throughout the season, but nothing was quite as intense as this. It is crucial to lead the race at Interlagos, as the middle sector is tight and twisty, and you can gain an advantage on the opening lap.
Whilst everyone was battling to gain positions through the Senna S, Singh pulled away, which exemplified his dominance this season. He continued on to take victory, in what was one of the most impressive drives of the season, to kickstart his championship celebrations, with Bernat and Skinner in an intense fight with Czerwinski throughout the race ending with Bernat and Skinner 2nd and 3rd respectively as Czerwiniski retired.
Further down the field, it was an impressive drive for Vakuinof as he moved his car up through the field to break into the Top 5, finishing 4th. Day recorded his first points in Formula Sprint 2 machinery by finishing 7th, and Craig Patteson made his way through the pack after starting on the back row to propel himself into the points.
Race 2 was a different story, Craig Patteson having made up 17 positions in Race 1, saw himself on pole position in Race 2. Last season he managed a victory at Brazil, and he was looking to repeat the same feat, however it was Tuomaala who shared the front row with him, beat him to the line heading to Curva 1.
Domenico Scarpelli was involved in a collision behind that pushed the Italian out of the points picture and with Sandeep on 12th, and Potentia weren’t having the best of races. However, Tuomaala couldn’t replicate Sandeep’s dominant lead and found himself under pressure. He was overtaken by Alex Day for the lead, the first time the Czech driver lead a FS2 race. Day, who had started in sixth, was starting to pull away from the rest of the field but a spin on Lap 11 ended his dream of taking his first FS2 win, handing the position to Ben Skinner.
Skinner held on to a comfortable lead from Okkenhaug, and would later go on to cross the finish line 7 laps later in first, recording the first time he scored a double podium in FS2. Sandeep Singh, on a mighty charge, finished in 2nd place, recording his best FS2 round performance since Belgium, with Magnus Okkenhaug finishing where he started in Race 2 for 3rd place.
Outside of the podium finishers it was Leppitt who replicated his teammate’s performance from the first race to cross the line in 7th for Hut Performance and Jongstra, despite his retirement in the first race, ended his second race on a high with a strong P15 for the Dutchman.
Both championships were wrapped up in Interlagos with Sandeep Singh and his team crowned victors. Sandeep has been imperious this season and his 7 victories are the most by any driver. He’s done this despite missing two whole rounds through absence, and fully deserves the title.
The fight isn’t over as Abu Dhabi prepares to host the final round of the championship with lower positions still yet to play for in both championships.
