Ruben Volt put on a startling drive in Race 2 at the Hungaroring from ninth to second to recover key points, after a tough to swallow penalty for a minor infraction cost him victory and any points in the weekend’s first race on Saturday.

The Estonian had just missed out on pole position by less than a tenth of a second, but put it right with a great start in the race to take the lead into Turn 1, and controlled the race from there, initially claiming his second win of the season until a few hours after the race it was confirmed he would receive a 30-second penalty as the team had been deemed to be working on the car, specifically checking the tyre valve caps, just after the five-minute signal.

While the activity in no way provided a sporting advantage, the regulations and the prescribed penalty saw him drop all the way to 18th, as the field was so tightly bunched up following a late-race safety car.

Volt was flying through the field in Race 2, making a strong start and then battling past the BRC Racing Team Hyundais and then Viktor Andersson’s CUPRA, before closing on Junui Park’s Hyundai Elantra, crossing the line right him to secure his second podium finish of the season.

“My pace was very good, I just needed to get through the carnage,” said Volt. “The overtakes were fun, the racing was fun, and maybe one lap more I could have challenged for the win but it is what it is.

“(After the safety car) I was focussing on my restart as I had to get past Andersson, and after that I was trying to catch Junui. I could see he was feeling the nerves of me catching him and made a few mistakes, but nothing major, and he deserves the win, I’m happy for him.”

Volt is now eighth in the drivers’ championship, within a tight group of drivers who are in contention for the title, just 38 points behind Taylor with still 140 points left across the last two race weekends at Monza and Barcelona.