Câmara leads Invicta team 1-2 in Barcelona F2 qualifying

Rafael Câmara made it two Formula 2 pole positions in a row with top spot in Barcelona, leading an Invicta Racing 1-2 in qualifying. The Brazilian set a 1m24.810s to lead the pack, with Joshua Duerksen second and Alexander Dunne third for Rodin Motorsport.

Dunne went to the top with the early time to beat, which was beaten three times over, with America's Colton Herta – doubling up this weekend along with his FP1 testing duties in F1 with Cadillac – taking top spot on a 1m25.387s. Laps by Duerksen and Hitech teammate Ritomo Miyata left the top three separated by 0.056s in the opening eight minutes.

Half the field opted to wait before setting their first attempts, and Nikola Tsolov took top spot next on a 1m25.222s. Kush Maini went within 0.042s of the Bulgarian’s time, but Câmara crossed the line and delivered a 1m24.810s to go four-tenths clear of anybody at the halfway stage.

The final set of laps got going with five minutes on the clock and there were plenty of personal bests coming through. Rafael Villagómez rocketed up to P2 for Van Amersfoort Racing, and Gabriele Minì followed moments later to displace the Mexican driver in the order.

Dunne, whose earlier time was deleted for exceeding track limits, was able to go second fastest and just over two-tenths off Câmara, until Duerksen put Invicta 1-2 moments later. The red flag then brought the session to a halt with Miyata spinning off through the gravel and into the barriers on the exit of the final corner. The Japanese driver was out of the car and OK, and once his Hitech was cleared, qualifying resumed with 3m41s on the clock.

Several drivers were in need of an improvement, but nobody could challenge Câmara’s time and he claimed pole ahead of teammate Duerksen. Dunne finished up third ahead of Minì and Villagómez in fifth. Tsolov followed in P6 ahead of Nico Varrone, Herta, Maini and Noel León in P10.

The FIA F2 Sprint Race is set to get going at 2:15pm local time on Saturday, with León set to go from reverse grid pole position.

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