CRAWFORD RESISTS LATE CHARGE FROM DURKSEN TO WIN IN FORMULA 2
Jak Crawford narrowly fended off a fast-closing Joshua Duerksen to secure his third Feature Race win of the season in Baku, a result that pushes the DAMS Lucas Oil driver up to second place in the Drivers’ Championship.
The American lost out from pole at the start but reclaimed the lead after a Safety Car restart and held his nerve under heavy pressure in the closing stages. Leonardo Fornaroli had crossed the line third but a 10-second penalty demoted him to fifth, giving Dino Beganovic the final podium spot.
Fornaroli made the perfect getaway from second to grab the lead into Turn 1, while Crawford slipped to third after being passed by Gabriele Minì on the run to Turn 3. By the start of Lap 2, Crawford had fought back past Minì, as Martinius Stenshorne also gained ground, moving into fourth ahead of Josep MarÃa MartÃ.
Luke Browning dropped from fifth to eighth with a slow launch and then ran wide at Turn 16, opening the door for Beganovic.
By Lap 4, Fornaroli had pulled a 2.2-second gap over Crawford, while Duerksen was already making progress, overtaking Browning for ninth. The momentum was interrupted on Lap 5 when Stenshorne crashed at Turn 1, bringing out the Safety Car, an unlucky moment for the Norwegian on the fight with Pepe Marti.
Most drivers swapped from Supersofts to Softs during the Lap 6 pit window. Minì rejoined ahead of Crawford and MartÃ, while Fornaroli fell to fourth.
When racing resumed on Lap 8, Minì initially held on but ran wide at Turn 16, briefly conceding the lead to Crawford before reclaiming it with slipstream. Further back, Duerksen surged past Beganovic for sixth.
Browning’s afternoon unraveled further after contact with Roman Staněk forced him to pit and eventually rejoin a lap down. Fornaroli also ran into trouble, colliding with Dunne on Lap 12 and later earning his penalty.
At the front, Crawford retook the lead on Lap 10 with DRS, setting the tone for the remainder of the race. Duerksen, who had climbed steadily from P15, cleared Martà for third on Lap 17 and then Minì for second by Lap 19. Fornaroli, still fighting hard, battled back into third on track, but his penalty loomed.
By Lap 24, Duerksen had closed to within 1.1s of Crawford and attacked with DRS, but the DAMS driver defended brilliantly through both zones. The fight raged to the chequered flag, with Crawford just holding on despite relentless pressure.
Behind them, Beganovic moved into fourth, which became third once Fornaroli’s penalty was applied. Minì finished fourth, Martà fifth, and his Campos teammate Arvid Lindblad sixth. Rafael Villagómez claimed eighth for Van Amersfoort Racing, followed by Richard Verschoor and Sebastián Montoya in ninth and tenth.
Fornaroli still leads the title fight on 188 points, but Crawford’s win lifts him to second on 169. Browning sits third on 161. In the Teams’ Championship, Invicta Racing stay in front with 269 points.
The grid now heads into a brief pause before the penultimate round in Qatar, set for November 28–30.
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