Dubai MRF: Drugovich eases to Race 1 win

Indonesia's Presley Martono made a slow getaway from pole position, slumping to fifth immediately and handing fellow frontrow starter Drugovich the lead.

Once at front, the Brazilian managed a series of fastest laps, establishing a two-second buffer up front before settling into a rhythm.

With Euroformula Open podium finisher Alex Karkosik unable to put on a challenge in the second half of the race, Drugovich cruised to his third win of the season, taking the chequered flag by 2.253s.

USF2000 runner-up Rinus van Kalmthout closed in on Karkosik during the dying stages of the race, but ended up 0.582s adrift in third.

Julien Falchero finished nearly four seconds behind the podium trio in fourth, while the aforementioned Martono was classified another five tenths adrift in fifth.

Louis Gachot, Harri Jones and Michelangelo Amendola all held their starting positions to end up sixth, seventh and eighth respectively.

Danial Frost finished ninth while MRF Challenge regular Dylan Young bagged the final championship point with a rocketing start from 15th on the grid.

Manuel Maldonado, cousin of former F1 driver Pastor, was the only retirement from the race, the Venezuelan clattering with Robert Megennis on the penultimate lap while battling for ninth position.

Race 1 Results:

Pos.	Driver	Time/Gap
1	Felipe Drugovich	19:44.537
2	Alex Karkosik	2.253
3	Rinus Van Kalmthout	2.835
4	Julien Falchero	6.973
5	Presley Martono	7.498
6	Louis Gachot	12.821
7	Harri Jones	13.240
8	Michelangelo Amendola	16.367
9	Danial Frost	16.732
10	Dylan Young	17.205
11	Henning Enqvist	17.621
12	Nazim Azman	18.214
13	Perdana Putra Milang	24.135
14	Kurt Hill	36.000
15	Richard Wagner	38.571
16	Pavan Ravishankar	54.450
17	Robert Megennis	1 Lap
DNF	Manuel Maldonado	DNF