Race Report
FIA FORMULA 4
ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 01/02/03
Circuit: Adria (I), Length 2,702 km, 06th/07th/08th June 2014
www.adriaraceway.com
JENZER MOTORSPORT 2014:
Ali Al Khalifa (BRN), Alain Valente (CH), Lucas Mauron (CH) and Nico Rindlisbacher (CH)
Valente starts with a podium at Adria
The first of seven meetings in the Italian FIA Formula 4 Championship took place at the popular Adria (I) circuit with 22 competitors present for the initial meeting, their expectations high in advance of the start.
You can follow the races live on sporttube tv.
Qualifying
Saturday, 07/06/14, 16.00 – 16.40, Weather: Sunny, 27°C
The rules of the championship allow for two qualifying sessions, each 15 minutes long, with a break of just ten minutes in between. Results from qualification session 1 determine the grid for Race One, while results from qualifying session 2 determine the grid for Race Three; the grid for Race Two is based on the results of Race One, with the first ten finishers starting in reverse order.
For all our boys it was the first qualifying session of their lives in a single seater car and it was a huge challenge for them. Everything was new, and they were very nervous but despite it all they all performed well in this 22 car strong field.
Qualifying 1 and Race One Grid | |||
---|---|---|---|
1st | Lance Stroll (CAN) | Prema | 1:15.348 |
2nd | Brandon Maisano (F) | Prema | 1:15.421 |
3rd | Leonardo Pulcini (I) | Euronova | 1:15.900 |
9th | Alain Valente (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:16.244 |
14th | Nico Rindlisbacher (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:16.847 |
16th | Lucas Mauron (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:16.877 |
18th | Ali Al Khalifa (BRN) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:17.305 |
Qualifying 2 and Race Three Grid | |||
---|---|---|---|
1st | Lance Stroll (CAN) | Prema | 1:15.376 |
2nd | Brandon Maisano (F) | Prema | 1:15.599 |
3rd | Andrea Russo (I) | Diegi | 1:15.758 |
10th | Alain Valente (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:16.244 |
15th | Lucas Mauron (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:16.818 |
16th | Ali Al Khalifa (BRN) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:16.947 |
18th | Nico Rindlisbacher (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:17.178 |
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race One (28 minutes + 1 lap)
Sunday, 08/06/14, 09.00, Weather: Sunny, 26°C
The start of the very first race of the season went well and even though all our drivers were competing in their very first Formula race they all performed very well. Alain, who started 9th, made up a place immediately for 8th and after a good drive was able to pressurise the 7th place driver into a mistake in the closing stages of the race. Alain was able to overtake and thus finished the race in a good 7th place. Nico was already up in 11th at the end of the first lap, but then he left his braking a bit too was late in one of the corners, which meant he ended up off the track. He lost several places as a result and it needed some very courageous overtaking to enable him to work his way back up the order to finish 13th. Lucas didn’t make the best of starts and had to let the whole field by before he was able to get moving. He then put in a good chase for places and finished the race in 15th. Ali did get a good start and was soon 13th but then he got embroiled in a number of fights and also experienced an off track moment which filled the cooler with grass, which in turn eventually set the temperature alarm off a little later. Ali returned to the pits and unfortunately had to retire from the race.
Race One Results | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
1st | Lance Stroll (CAN) | Prema | 30:32.303 | |
2nd | Brandon Maisano (F) | Prema | Gap | 7.377 |
3rd | Andrea Russo (I) | Diegi | Gap | 11.669 |
7th | Alain Valente (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
13. | Nico Rindlisbacher (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
15th | Lucas Mauron (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
22nd | Ali Al Khalifa (BRN) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
Fastest lap: Lance Stroll (CAN) in 1:15.818 | ||||
Race Two Grid | ||||
1th | Ivan Matveev (RUS) | Euronova | ||
2th | Gustavo Bandeira (BRA) | DAV | ||
3th | Leonardo Pulcini (I) | Euronova | ||
4th | Alain Valente (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
5th | Mattia Drudi (I) | Cram | ||
6th | Ukyo Sasahara (JPN) | Euronova | ||
13th | Nico Rindlisbacher (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
15th | Lucas Mauron (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
22nd | Ali Al Khalifa (BRN) | Jenzer Motorsport |
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race Two (18 minutes + 1 lap)
Sunday, 08/06/14, 14.20, Weather: Sunny, 34°C
The pole sitter failed to get off the grid at the start, and another driver hit him, meaning that the Safety Car had to be deployed. Alain made contact with another competitor during the first lap and bent his suspension, pitting straight afterwards for repairs. He rejoined the race a lap down and was classified 20th in the end. Lucas got a good start and skilfully overtook a number of other drivers during the first few laps. He spent the rest of the race defending his 8th and thus came home in the top ten. Nico didn’t get away cleanly at the start and he lost a few places at the restart, but he put in a charge to make up several places, crossing the finishing line in 14th. Ali started very well and improved his position immediately, but he lost a place in the middle of the race. However, he was able to reclaim it and was classified 16th.
Race Two Results | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
1st | Ukyo Sasahara (JPN) | Euronova | 19:29.671 | |
2nd | Lance Stroll (CAN) | Prema | Gap | 0.218 |
3rd | Andrea Russo (I) | Diegi | Gap | 0.452 |
8th | Lucas Mauron (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
14th | Nico Rindlisbacher (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
16th | Ali Al Khalifa (BRN) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
20th | Alain Valente (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
Fastest lap: Lance Stroll (CAN) in 1:16.527 |
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race Three (28 minutes + 1 lap)
Sunday, 08/06/14, 17.00, Weather: Sunny, 36°C
This time Alain made a really good start and had fought his way into 7th by the start of the second lap. He managed another overtaking manoeuvre, but then took some time to find a way around Sasahara, finally getting through to set about catching Maisano. He finished the race in 4th, but because Maisano is counted in the “Trophy” category for older drivers, 3rd place in the championship was Alain’s and with it his first podium! Lucas started 11th and got away well, the battled his way past Defourny to make up further ground. He took the chequered flag in 8th for a good top ten finish. Nico didn’t get a good start and was last by the time he got going. His recovery drive included some very impressive passing moves, which was slowed when he found that passing his team-mate was not so easy. He finally found a way past Ali to finish 11th. Ali did get a good start and had a very good run to the finish, coming home just behind Nico in 12th. All of our drivers put in very good performances in their first race weekend in a formula car and we were delighted to have claimed a podium place and several top ten positions. We are looking forward to the next race, which will be in three weeks time at Imola.
Race Three Results | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
1st | Andrea Russo (I) | Diegi | 29:31.822 | |
2nd | Leonardo Pulcini (I) | Euronova | Gap | 8.991 |
3rd | Brandon Maisano (F) | Prema | Gap | 12.051 |
4th | Alain Valente (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
8th | Lucas Mauron (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
11th | Nico Rindlisbacher (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
12th | Ali Al Khalifa (BRN) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
Fastest lap: Andrea Russo (I) in 1:16.534 |
Championship standings
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship 2014 after 3 out of 21 races:
1st Andrea Russo (I) 53 points; 2nd Lance Stroll (CAN), 51 points; 3rd Leonardo Pulcini (I), 30 points; 4th Ukio Sasahara (JPN), 25 points; 5th Alain Valente (CH), 23 points; 6th Takashi Kasai (JPN) 17 points; 11th Lucas Mauron (CH), 8 points; 14th Nico Rindlisbacher, 1 Punkt
Italian F4 Trophy for Drivers over the age of 18:
1st Brandon Maisono (F), 63 points; 2nd Keith Camilleri (M), 44 points; 3rd Ali Al Khalifa (BRN), 42 points
2014 FIA FORMULA 4 ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP - AGENDA
06th/07th/08th June | Adria (I) |
27th/28th/29th June | Imola (I) |
11th/12th/13th July | Mugello (I) |
01st/02nd/03rd August | Magione (I) |
12th/13th/14th September | Vallelunga (I) |
26th/27th/28th September | Monza (I) |
17th/18th/19th October | Barcelona (E) |
For more information:
- www.acisportitalia.it/F4/home/ing/4882/Two-days-in-Adria-Raceway-for-F.4-teams/2014
- www.italiaracing.net