Round 2 at the Dubai Autodrome saw some spectacular action. Luis Felipe Capamadjian managed to take his second win of the season in race 1. Guyon Branten was the strongest in race 2, with the Dutchman taking his first Grand Prix United win from fifth on the reverse grid.
Peruvian driver Luis Felipe Capamadjian began the event in style. Coming into the event second in the standings, it was the Ground Effect driver who managed to secure pole position for race 1, fending off Szymon Frelik in second and Fabian Rüth in third. With the top 14 separated by under a second it would be one of the closest ever Grand Prix United qualifying sessions, which was quite impressive due to the length and difficulty of the circuit.
Some noticeable drivers during qualifying were Daan Hut - who qualified an impressive sixth and managed to improve his pace from last season - and Sven Geelhoed - who was able to make his debut in Grand Prix United with a solid eighth place on the grid. Championship leader Tom Stevens had a tough start to the event. He qualified only 13th, eight tenths off pole position.
Race 1 showed a dominant performance by Luis Felipe Capamadjian, who was able to keep his lead for the entirety of the race whilst also building a solid gap to the car behind. Owen McGaugie finished in second place from fourth on the grid. Sven Geelhoed managed an impressive drive to come home in third from eight on the grid, as the Dutchman showed his incredible overtaking pace throughout the event. His teammate Chay Hatch also scored points on his debut in seventh place, with last-minute stand-in Max Reichel managing to get the reverse grid pole and tenth place for Eight-Six eRacing. The race also saw Tom Stevens lose his championship lead when he came home in 11th, and was clearly lacking some pace during the first race.
Race 2 saw some chaotic moments. Right from the start it was Chay Hatch in fourth who did not get off the line well. A tense battle for the lead between Max Reichel and Daan Hut resulted in Guyon Branten in third place to make an opportunistic move and take the lead in the opening stages of the race. More chaos ensued in the top 10, as Luis Felipe Capamadjian, Isaac Clark, Szymon Frelik & Tom Stevens got together in the last corner. It meant the end of the race for Tom Stevens and a lost front wing for Luis Felipe Capamadjian.
At the front it was Guyon Branten putting in the fastest laptime of the event, but his tire wear issues and Daan Hut's consistancy caused Daan to massively catch up near the end of the race. With an intense last lap battle it was Guyon who took home the victory, separating the two by just over five tenths of a second. Chay Hatch managed to recover well from his bad start and secured a second podium for Acsensa eRacing at Dubai.
Luis Felipe Capamadjian now leads the championship with 56 points, ahead of Owen Mcgaugie with 47 points and Guyon Branten with 45 points. Team Ferlic is the leader in the team standings with 80 points, ahead of Ground Effect Simracing Team with 66 points and Eight-Six eRacing with 58 points.
The next round will be at the Korea International circuit on Monday the 14th of June.
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