FRMEC - Taponen masters Stenshorne, Naël loses his podium

At the end of a sensational race, Tuukka Taponen dominated his teammate Martinius Stenshorne and gave R-ace GP a double. Frenchman Théophile Naël, third at the finish, was penalized for a collision and lost his podium.

Published on 20/01/2024 à 11:57

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FRMEC – Taponen masters Stenshorne, Naël loses his podium

Tuukka Taponen, winner in Abu Dhabi. © FRMEC

Ultra-dominant since the start of the weekend when he secured the two pole positions of the meeting, the Finn Tuukka Taponen confirmed this Saturday by winning the first race of this second Yas Marina meeting. Starting from pole, the driver Ferrari offered a magnificent fight with his teammate Martinius Stenshorne, the Norwegian who managed to take the lead of the race for a few moments.

Spectacular, the race resulted in an R-ace GP double. The third man on the podium is Mari Boya, who earned his place on the box in the penalty game. Indeed, Théophile Naël, third at the finish of the race, was judged guilty for his contact with Taylor Barnard and the stewards decided to impose a 10-second penalty on him, relegating him to 8th place.

Stenshorne new leader

Disillusionment on the other hand for the one who started on the front line alongside Tuukka Taponen. Leader of the championship before the start of the race, Taylor Bernard, winner of the two main races last week, actually lost a few lengths at the start, and especially made a mistake on his own at the start of the race, spinning at the exit of a turn while he was in the battle for the podium.

Martinius Stenshorne took the opportunity to take control of the championship, even if the Finn will not compete in the entire championship. Ugo Ugochukwu, 10th in the race, will start on pole for the reverse grid (C2), at 16:30 p.m. this Saturday.