Race Report
FIA FORMULA 4
ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 13/14/15
Circuit: Imola (I); Length: 4.909 km, 8th/9th/10th September 2017
www.autodromoimola.com
JENZER MOTORSPORT 2017:
Kush Maini (IND), Job van Uitert (NL), Giorgio Carrara (ARG), Giacomo Bianchi (CH), Federico Malvestiti (I) & Gregoire Saucy (CH)
Van Uitert, Maini and Carrara on the podium an Imola
The fifth of seven meetings in the Italian FIA Formula 4 Championship took place after the long summer break at the characterful circuit at Imola (I). Gregoire Saucy joined our team and he plans to compete in the last rounds of the championship, in order to start his preparations for the 2018 season. You can follow the races live on sporttube tv..
Qualifying
Friday, 08/09/17, 17.25 – 18.00, Weather: Sunny, 25°C
The rules allow for two qualifying sessions of 15 minutes, with a 10 minute break in between. The Qualifying 1 times determine the grid for Race 1 and the times from Qualifying 2 determine the grid for Race 2. The starting order for Race 3 is based on the 2nd best lap times of each driver in either qualifying session.
Lap times were incredibly close and our drivers did their best, finishing the sessions in very good positions.
Results Qualifying 1 & Grid for Race One | |||
---|---|---|---|
1st | Marcus Armstrong (NZL) | Prema | 1:45.417 |
2nd | Juri Vips (EST) | Prema | 1:45.470 |
3rd | Job van Uitert (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.471 |
5th | Federico Malvestiti (I) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.557 |
6th | Kush Maini (IND) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.569 |
11th | Giorgio Carrara (ARG) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.937 |
13th | Giacomo Bianchi (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:46.108 |
15th | Gregoire Saucy (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:46.545 |
Results Qualifying 2 & Grid for Race Two | |||
---|---|---|---|
1st | Job van Uitert (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:44.995 |
2nd | Kush Maini (IND) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.070 |
3rd | Lorenzo Colombo (I) | Bhaitech | 1:45.073 |
9th | Federico Malvestiti (I) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.462 |
12th | Giorgio Carrara (ARG) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.738 |
13th | Giacomo Bianchi (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.808 |
15th | Gregoire Saucy (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:46.335 |
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race One (28 minutes + 1 lap)
Saturday, 09/09/17, 12.05 Uhr, Weather: Sunny, 25°C
The start went well, but soon Vips and Armstrong clashed. Armstrong was able to continue, while Vips went off track. That promoted Job to 2nd, and Federico, who had started from 5th place, found himself in 3rd place. The Safety Car had to be deployed and at the restart there were changes, but Job and Federico kept their positions. Kush was 8th, Giorgio 12th and Gregoire, who had not made the best of starts in his first ever race in the category, was in 15th. Job was all over Armstrong, but it was not easy to find the right moment for an overtaking manoeuvre. Federico was battling with Zendeli and then Fernandez also got involved in the fight. Federico and Fernandez touched, and the latter spun but was able to continue. Fittipaldi tried to avoid Fernandez, and as a result he and Federico crashed into each other and both ended up off track. The Safety Car had to be re-deployed. Armstrong managed to stay in front of Job at the restart, Kush was in 5th position and Giacomo had moved up to 9th. Giorgio was 11th and Gregoire had moved forward to 12th. The last few laps were very exciting, with Job putting pressure on Armstrong, but Armstrong held his nerve and made no mistake. Job reached the finishing line with the smallest margin in a great 2nd place. Kush had made up ground although it took a photo finish to confirm his result. This showed that he had caught Colombo just before the finish line and as a result he claimed a super 4th place! Giorgio finished in 11th, which put him on the Rookie podium again, this time in a great 2nd place. Gregoire took the chequered flag immediately behind Giorgio and with that came home in a very respectable 12th in his first ever F4 race.
Race One Results | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
1st | Marcus Armstrong (NZL) | Prema | 30:41.238 | |
2nd | Job van Uitert (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | Gap | 0.144 |
3rd | Lirim Zendeli (D) | Mücke | Gap | 4.919 |
4th | Kush Maini (IND) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
9th | Giacomo Bianchi (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
11th | Giorgio Carrara (ARG) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
12th | Gregoire Saucy (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
DNF: | Federico Malvestiti (I) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
Fastest lap: Job van Uitert (NL) in 1:45.901 |
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race Two (28 minutes + 1 lap)
Sunday, 10/09/17, 08.15, Weather: Rain, 17°C
The rain was falling throughout the night, and in the morning the officials chose to change the program for the day. The F4 race was shortened by 7 minutes and only started at 10.50 behind the Safety Car. The track was very wet, but everyone drove with enough respect for the conditions. Despite some hairy situations the race was completed with no stoppages. Job led convincingly and his win was never in question! For lap after lap Kush ran in 2nd, with Vips just managing to slip past him towards the end of the race. Nevertheless Kush was delighted to claim his first podium finish in the category. Giacomo had worked his way up to a very good 10th place, while Giorgio took the chequered flag right behind him in 11th. That meant Giorgio was again on the Rookie podium in 2nd place. Federico finished in 13th, and Gregoire crossed the finishing line in 15th. They had all done very well in these difficult conditions, on a very wet track, and in a huge amount of spray!
Race Two Results | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
1st | Job van Uitert (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | 22:30.083 | |
2nd | Juri Vips (EST) | Prema | Gap | 7.442 |
3rd | Kush Maini (IND) | Jenzer Motorsport | Gap | 8.172 |
10th | Giacomo Bianchi (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
11th | Giorgio Carrara (ARG) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
13th | Federico Malvestiti (I) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
15th | Gregoire Saucy (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
Fastest lap: Juri Vips (EST) in 2:02.445 |
Grid for Race Three | |||
---|---|---|---|
1st | Job van Uitert (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.099 |
2nd | Kush Maini (IND) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.219 |
3rd | Leonardo Lorandi (I) | Bhaitech | 1:45.316 |
7th | Federico Malvestiti (I) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.517 |
12th | Giorgio Carrara (ARG) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.844 |
13th | Giacomo Bianchi (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.847 |
15th | Gregoire Saucy (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:46.464 |
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race Three (28 minutes + 1 lap)
Sunday, 10/09/2017, 16.15, Weather: Cloudy, 18°C
In the afternoon the rain stopped and the track started to dry out. Everyone opted to start on slicks despite it being declared a wet race, and despite it starting behind the Safety Car. When the Safety Car finally pulled in Job managed the start very well and Kush followed him easily, but Vips was close behind him and Vips and Kush were battling it out for positions. Unfortunately they then tangled, but both were able to continue, only losing a handful of places. That gave Job some breathing space and he managed to increase the gap as a result. Finally Kush gained some points by finishing 9th and came home right behind Federico, who after a very good race came home in 8th. Shortly after the start Giorgio tangled with Giacomo, which sent Giacomo into a spin and caused him to loose places. Giorgio finished the race in 11th, stepping onto the Rookie podium for the third time, this time in third place. Giacomo finished the race in 17th place. Gregoire, on his first race weekend with us, had experienced pretty much the entire spectrum of weather, had adapted well, and had proved his potential. He finished this race in 13th.
The next race of the Italian F4 Championship takes place on the weekend of 8th October 2017 at Mugello (I).
Race Three Results | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
1st | Job van Uitert (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | 24:01.163 | |
2nd | Leonardo Lorandi (I) | Bhaitech | Gap | 0.152 |
3rd | Marcus Armstrong (NZL) | Prema | Gap | 0.676 |
8th | Federico Malvestiti (I) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
9th | Kush Maini (IND) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
11th | Giorgio Carrara (ARG) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
13th | Gregoire Saucy (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
17th | Giacomo Bianchi (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
Fastest lap: Juri Vips (EST) in 1:46.602 |
Championship Standings
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship 2017 after 15 races:
1st Marcus Armstrong (NZL), 209 points; 2nd Job van Uitert (NL), 192 points; 3rd Lorenzo Colombo (I), 166 points; 4th Sebastian Fernandez (VEN), 131 points; 5th Leonardo Lorandi (I), 122 points; 6th Artem Petrov (RUS), 116 points; 10th Kush Maini (IND), 71 points; 16th Federico Malvestiti (I), 9 points; 17th Giacomo Bianchi (CH), 6 points; 19th Giorgio Carrara (ARG), 2 points
Rookie-Classification:
1st Leonardo Lorandi (I), 353 points; 2nd Enzo Fittipaldi (BRA), 221 points; 3rd Giorgio Carrara (ARG), 187 points
2017 FIA FORMULA 4 ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP - CALENDAR
31st March/2nd April | Misano (I) | |
5th/7th May | Adria (I) | |
23rd/25th June | Vallelunga (I) | |
14th/16th July | Mugello (I) | |
8th/10th September | Imola (I) | |
6th/8th October | Mugello (I) | |
20th/22nd October | Monza (I) |
More info: