Taponen wins F4 UAE race two at Dubai after Carrasquedo hit by penalty

Photo: F4 UAE

Mumbai Falcons’ Tuuka Taponen claimed victory in Formula 4 United Arab Emirates’ safety car-filled second race at Dubai Autodrome after R-ace GP’s Jesse Carrasquedo Jr was penalised.

The Mexican was first under the chequered flag, but he was handed a five-second time penalty for not following the safety car procedure correctly, which meant he was classified 10th.

Starting from pole courtesy of fastest lap in race one, Carrasquedo held on to the lead ahead of Taponen and his team-mate James Wharton. The latter had got past Xcel Motorsport’s Federico Rifai off the line, who also dropped behind PHM Racing’s Noah Stromsted.

Rifai’s team-mate Alexander Bolduev stalled from sixth, and other drivers made contact as they tried to avoid him, with Prema’s title contender Ugo Ugochukwu pulling off to the right of the track and retiring due to car damage sustained during the drama.

The safety car was deployed before the end of lap one, and the field went through the pitlane while the pit straight was being cleared of debris. Carrasquedo initially missed the pit-entry and tried to amend his mistake by crossing the white line to enter the pits. However, he was penalised for his action, eventually costing him the win.

After the safety car period, racing resumed with under 10 minutes remaining on the clock, and no overtaking at the front.

The top three drivers broke away, while the action heated up between several drivers battling in the lower end of the top 10.

MP Motorsport’s Valerio Rinicella overtook Prema’s Bianca Bustamante for seventh, and Pinnacle VAR’s Jack Beeton and Hitech GP’s Kanato Le followed Rinicella past her before the safety car appeares again.

Sainteloc Racing’s Theodor Jensen had spun and hit the rear of Xcel Motorsport’s Georgy Zhuravskiy, who was driving by. Both cars came to a halt in the middle of the track, and the clear-up job meant the safety car was out until the end of the race and denied Carrasquedo an opportunity to build a gap and minimise the effect of his penalty.

Race results (10 laps)