Rodin Motorsport driver Alex Dunne clinched victory in the Formula 2 Feature Race at Imola, his second race win of the 2025 campaign.
From fifth on the grid, the McLaren junior made late race moves to finish ahead of the Hitech duo of Luke Browning and Dino Beganovic.
Dunne benefited during the pit stops for the Super Soft runners, and after a Safety Car demolished the gap to the alternative strategy runners, he made the crucial overtakes to cross the chequered flag in first place.
Beganovic started the race from pole position after setting the fastest lap in qualifying before the red flag brought an end to the session with six minutes left.
A member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, the Hitech driver was joined by Sebastina Montoya on the front row in his Prema Racing car.
Saturday’s Sprint Race winner Jak Crawford went from ninth on the grid and championship leader Richard Verschoor started the race from 19th on the grid after a poor qualifying session.
Dunne a class above in F2 Feature at Imola
Pre-race drama struck as Montoya suffered heartbreak, unable to get away from second on the grid for the formation lap and forced to start from the pit lane.
At the race start, third-placed Victor Martins also failed to get off the line as he was rolled back into the pits in his ART car.
Invicta Racing driver Leonardo Fornaroli attempted a move from fourth around the outside of Beganovic, but the Swedish driver held on for the race lead after Lap 1.
Arvid Lindblad made his way up to third with the stalls on the grid for Campos Racing.
His team-mate, and title contender, Pepe Marti gained two places and moved into ninth place – Vershcoor up and into 14th place.
Beganovic took to the radio to demand that Martins get out of the way, as the Frenchman tried to avoid being lapped by the race leader.
Marti moved past ART’s Ritomo Miyata on Lap 5, and into eighth place behind AIX Racing driver Joshua Durksen, who started the race from 14th on the grid.
Both drivers started the race on the alternate strategy and were now the lead drivers of the Soft tyres runners.
On Lap 7, the frontrunners on the Super Softs made their pit stops, as Fornaroli lost out to Lindblad and Dunne, the latter gaining two places in his Rodin car.
Hitech driver Browning and Crawford pitted on the next lap, as the British driver emerged out of the pits ahead of the American and into the net race lead.
Hitech tussle gifts Dunne the lead
Failing to make the undercut work, Beganovic attempted to retake the track position, but his team-mate forced him off at Turn 7 through Tosa, Dunne gaining a place because of it.
On the next lap, Dunne passed the Hitech driver for the net race lead – Beganovic, Lindblad, Fornaroli and Crawford all close behind.
Of the alternative strategy runners, Marti made his way past Durksen and led the race on Lap 11 with the frontrunners pitting.
On Lap 14, Van Amersfoort Racing driver Rafael Villagomez came to a stop on the exit of Tamburello after contact with the Trident of Sami Meguetounif.
Before the yellow flags, Durksen made his way past Marti to retake the lead on the same lap before the Safety Car was called on the next lap.
Of the alternative strategy runners, only Gabrielle Mini for Prema, John Bennett for VAR and DAMS Lucas Oil driver Kush Maini pitted.
Mini rejoined the track behind Beganovic on the Super Softs, but an optimistic call with just under 20 laps left.
The top six stayed out, losing their pit-stop gap to the rest of the grid.
Marti claimed that Durksen did not lift for the yellow flags, the Spaniard pleading his case over the team radio.
By Lap 18, the stricken car of Villagomez was cleared, with racing set to resume and the Paraguayan racing driver leading the remaining 21 drivers.
Rodin driver slices through rivals with bold moves
At the restart, Dunne put a car between himself and Browning, the Hitech driver having to wait a few corners before passing Max Esterson.
On Lap 21, Browning found himself behind the Rodin of Amaury Cordeel, as the Belgian held up the Hitech car to help team-mate Dunne, who had already found his way past Cordeel.
Dunne, however, struggled to get past Miyata at the same time, as the Soft and Super Soft runners battled hard for track position in the final stage of the Feature Race.
Browning finally made the move stick on Lap 24, as did the Irishman, as Miyata now separated the race leaders.
The McLaren junior now set his sights on Roman Stanek on the next lap, completing the overtake into Turn 1.
Dunne quickly closed in on Marti and made a late lunge into Tosa for second place.
By Lap 27, Dunne made the decisive, race-winning move, overtaking Durksen to take the lead on track for the first time.
Stuck in fifth place, Browning eventually got past Stanek on Lap 29, as Beganovic and Lindblad dispatched Cordeel on the same lap.
Thrilling contest concludes as Hitech secures double podium
Browning found his way into second place after passing Marti before the alternative strategy runners finally pitted.
Dunne had built a lead of five seconds out front, all but sealing the victory for the Rodin driver.
Polesitter Beganovic inherited third and was set to claim the final spot on the podium as the race settled down heading into the final laps.
By Lap 35, Dunne was seven seconds clear of Browning, cruising home for the race win and the championship lead in the standings.
Beganovic completed a double podium for Hitech in third, Lindblad in fourth and Fornaroli in fifth place.
Sprint race winner Crawford crossed the line in sixth, Oliver Goethe in seventh and Montoya with a recovery drive to take eighth place after his pre-race stall on the grid.
Verschoor recovered to ninth to claim two points ahead of Meguetounif in 10th place, taking the final point in the Feature Race.
READ MORE – Jak Crawford clinches F2 Sprint Race victory at Imola from the second row
