SPRINT RACE: Bearman holds off Martí to take victory in Spielberg

Oliver Bearman took victory in the Spielberg Sprint Race, putting in a controlled performance to hold off Campos Racing’s Josep María Martí on his way to claiming his first win of the season.
The PREMA Racing driver took the lead at the start and led every lap of the race before taking the chequered flag in P1. Martí was forced to settle for second while Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Paul Aron took the final spot on the podium.
AS IT HAPPENED
It was a superb start for Bearman as he took the lead from pole-sitter Kush Maini on the run up to Turn 1. The Invicta Racing driver then lost another place to Martí later in the lap.
By end of Lap 3, Bearman was now over two seconds clear of Martí. The Spaniard was also out of DRS range of Maini in third, who was coming under attack from Taylor Barnard, Paul Aron, and his teammate Gabriel Bortoleto.
At the start of Lap 6, the gaps were closing, as Martí had moved to within a second and a half of Bearman, while Maini was now within DRS range of the Campos rookie.
Barnard though was beginning to lose touch with Maini in the battle for P3, and the AIX Racing driver then dropped down to fifth after Aron dived down his inside at Turn 3.
Back at the front, Bearman’s margin had gone with Martí now within DRS range of the Briton, with Maini just behind as they started Lap 9.
Barnard’s struggles continued as Bortoleto overtook him for fifth at Turn 2 and he lost another position to MP Motorsport’s Franco Colapinto a couple of laps later.
At the halfway stage of the race, Joshua Duerksen made his way past his AIX Racing teammate Barnard after diving down his inside on the entry to Turn 3.
Maini was beginning to struggle on Lap 20 and fell out of DRS range of Martí up ahead. The Invicta driver then lost his place on the podium to Aron at the exit of Turn 3 on the next lap, with teammate Bortoleto following the Estonian through at the next corner.
But this allowed Bearman and Martí to escape on the road with Aron and Bortoleto now over a second away from the top two fighting for the final spot on the podium.
The battles had also started further back as Duerksen lost P7 to Hauger on Lap 24.
By end of Lap 26, Bearman had extended his lead to over one second to Martí, while Bortoleto was all over the back of Aron. Just behind them, Maini lost out to the two MP drivers Colapinto and Hauger and dropped to seventh.
Onto the final lap, and Bearman extended his lead to nearly two seconds before crossing the line to take victory ahead of Martí, while Aron held off Bortoleto to take his seventh podium of the year.
Hauger emerged ahead of his teammate Colapinto to take sixth while the Argentine driver spun on the exit of Turn 3. This promoted Crawford to sixth with Maini in seventh as Duerksen took the final point in P8.
KEY QUOTE – Oliver Bearman, PREMA Racing
“Happy to be back on the podium, it’s been a tough run so far, so I’m happy to finally get a result that the team deserve. We’ve been working really hard, and we are getting towards where we want to be, so let’s go get some good points tomorrow.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
With another podium added to his tally Paul Aron moves to 107 points and extends his lead over Isack Hadjar to 16 points in the Drivers’ Championship. Zane Maloney stays in third place despite not scoring in the Sprint Race while Crawford sits in fourth on 65 points. Just behind, Hauger and Bortoleto are tied on 60 points in fifth and sixth.
In the Teams’ Standings, Martí’s second place means Campos Racing move to 128 points and with Aron in third, they extend their lead over Hitech Pulse-Eight to two points. MP Motorsport are third on 116 points, four clear of Invicta Racing while DAMS Lucas Oil are now on 95 points and jump ahead of Rodin Motorsport into fifth place.
UP NEXT
Next on the schedule is the Spielberg Feature Race where lights out is at 10:00 local time with Dennis Hauger set to start from Pole Position.