Race Report

FIA FORMULA 4
ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 13/14/15

Circuit: Valleunga (I), Length: 4.085 km, 09^th/10^th/11^th September 2016
www.vallelunga.it

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2016:
Diego Ciantini (ARG), Marcos Siebert (ARG) & Giacomo Bianchi (CH), as well as Kevin Kratz (D) & Job van Uitert (NL)

Wet tyre gamble at Vallelunga pays off for Bianchi

The fifth of seven meetings in the Italian FIA Formula 4 Championship took place, after an eight week break, at the technical Vallelunga circuit. 30 drivers were in attendance, all very keen to take on the latest challenge. The races can be followed live on sporttube tv.

Qualifying

Saturday, 10/09/16, 09.20 – 10.00, Weather: Sunny, 24°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 results of Race 2, but with the top ten reversed.

For once qualifying took place on Saturday morning. The conditions were ideal and the first session was run without no incidents, but the second session had to be red flagged and stopped twice. Everyone had to repeatedly line up in the pits and then had to find their rhythm again in the remaining time. Lap times were again very close throughout the field.

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship

Race One (28 minutes + 1 lap)

Saturday, 10/09/16, 15.25, Weather: Rain, 26°C

All drivers were ready in the pit lane when the race director decided to delay the start. There were black clouds lurking over the track and rain had started falling. Thunder was rolling in and no one knew if it would rain hard or stop altogether and then clear up. Finally the race was declared a “wet race” and started behind the Safety Car. Only a handful of drivers had opted for rain tyres but after the Safety Car came in the rain started to fall with a vengeance and it became ever more difficult for those drivers who were on slick tyres. Despite this Marcos managed to move up a place each lap, overtaking with healthy confidence until he reached 6^th place. Job was being a little more cautious though he also gained several positions and was now 11^th. Giacomo, who, as the only one of our drivers to choose rain tyres, soon gained confidence and moved up several places each time in a courageous run. He overtook Job for 11th, dropping Job to 12^th. Diego was also on the move and was making progress when he got a bit over enthusiastic, started spinning and shot straight into the tyre wall. This caused the Safety Car to be deployed but the track was now so wet that soon more cars went off and ended up stranded off track. Kevin was among them and couldn’t avoid sliding into the gravel trap. Several laps were driven behind the Safety Car but the rain didn’t ease so once they’d covered enough distance for full points to be awarded the race was stopped with a red flag. It was obvious that Giacomo, having made the right tyre choice by putting wets on would have climbed much higher up the order had the Safety Car intervention not stopped his progress!

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship

Race Two (28 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 11/09/16, 09.00, Weather: Cloudy, 20°C

Marcos made a good start and gained a place to go 5^th, while Job flew over the kerbs into one of the corners and was very pleased to be able to catch the car and not touch the wall. He made it back onto the track but had lost a few positions and was now 14^th. Kevin, meanwhile, was on the move and had charged into 17^th at the end of the first lap. Then there was contact and Kevin’s car was pushed over the kerbs, landing him in the gravel trap. Unfortunately that meant his race was over before it had really started. Diego and Giacomo had both held their positions but then DeFrancesco shot off and the Safety Car had to be deployed while his damaged car was towed away. At the restart Diego had a hairy moment when he had to avoid another car but once he’d got over that he started the chase for places, improving his position lap after lap. Diego reached the finishing line in a decent 16th place. Giacomo was also steadily climbing the order, improving place by place to finish the race in 21^st place. Job was in a lively group with lots of fighting going on, where he managed to gain a position and then defended that 13^th place all the way to the finish line. Marcos drove in a controlled and steady manner and brought home an excellent 5^th place with no problems.

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship

Race Three (18 minutes + 1 lap)

Sunday, 11/09/2016, 14.40, Weather: Sunny, 28°C

There was heavy humidity and the dark clouds were reappearing when Race 3 got underway. An accident at the start involved several cars and the Safety Car had to be deployed immediately. It took some time until the debris was completely cleaned away. At the restart just six minutes were left on the clock. Marcos held 6^th until the end, while Job also managed to avoid the accident and then worked his way up to 10^th place. Diego too managed to gain several positions in the remaining time, crossing the finish line in 12^th. Giacomo, who started on the side of the grid where the accident happened, was just happy to avoid the crash. However, he lost a lot of places and by the time he took the chequered flag was only 25^th. Kevin, who started right at the back, was also lucky to avoid the accident, and was able to gain several positions as a result, managing to move into 20^th place for the remaining handful of laps.

The next race of the Italian F4 Championship will take place in two weeks time on the weekend of 25^th September at Imola (I).

Championship Standings

FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship 2016 after 15 races:
1^st Marcos Siebert (ARG), 189 points; 2^nd Mick Schumacher (D), 180 points; 3^rd Raul Guzman M. (MEX), 159 points; 4^th Juri Vips (EST), 93 points; 5^th Giuliano Raucci (BRA), 85 points; 7^th Job van Uitert (NL), 84,5 points; 6^th Joao Vieira Q. (BRA), 68 points; 17^th Diego Ciantini (ARG), 23.5 points; 28^th Fabio Scherer (CH), 3 points; 29^th Kevin Kratz (D), 1 point

2016 FIA FORMULA 4 ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP - CALENDAR

More info:

• www.acisportitalia.it/F4/
• www.italiaracing.net