Race Report
FIA FORMULA 4
ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 13/14/15
Circuit: Imola (I); Length: 4.909 km, 30th August – 1st September 2019
www.autodromoimola.com
JENZER MOTORSPORT 2019:
Jonny Edgar (GB), Emidio Pesce (I), Axel Gnos (CH)
Edgar shines with 2nd place at Imola
The fifth of seven races for the Italian FIA Formula 4 Championship took place after the long summer break on the characterful track at Imola. Giorgio Carrara won the last race at the Red Bull Ring. This was obviously the right time for him to switch to FIA F3 for the remainder of the season. We were here in Imola with a total of 3 drivers: Jonny Edgar, Emidio Pesce and Axel Gnos. The races can be watched live on sporttube tv. (see website).
Qualifying
Friday, 30/08/19, 18.20 – 19.00, Weather: Sunny, 31°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 second best lap time of each driver in either of the two qualifying sessions.
Here in Imola a total of four races were on the program. In Misano the third race was cancelled due to inclement weather, so the cancelled race was added to the weekend program as the final race, using the grid set back in May.
The first qualifying session went as scheduled, but the second session was interrupted by the red flag 4 minutes before the end due to a crash. After that, the session got very hectic, because everyone wanted to improve one last time. Jonny claimed three great 2nd places, Axel got a 23rd, an 18th and a 22nd, and Emidio was 26th, 24th and 23rd.
| Results Qualifying 1 & Grid for Race One | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Roman Stanek (D) | US Racing | 1:45.621 |
| 2nd | Jonny Edgar (GB) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.729 |
| 3rd | Dennis Hauger (NOR) | Van Amersfoort | 1:45.974 |
| 23rd | Axel Gnos (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:47.560 |
| 26th | Emidio Pesce (I) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:48.034 |
| Results Qualifying 2 & Grid for Race Two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Roman Stanek (D) | US Racing | 1:45.665 |
| 2nd | Jonny Edgar (GB) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.758 |
| 3rd | Gianluca Petecof (BRA) | Prema | 1:45.817 |
| 23rd | Axel Gnos (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:47.054 |
| 26th | Emidio Pesce (I) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:47.832 |
| Grid for Race Three | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Roman Stanek (D) | US Racing | 1:45.751 |
| 2nd | Jonny Edgar (GB) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.833 |
| 3rd | Dennis Hauger (NOR) | Van Amersfoort | 1:45.986 |
| 23rd | Axel Gnos (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:47.759 |
| 24th | Emidio Pesce (I) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:48.045 |
| Grid for Race Four – Replacement for Race Three at Misano | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Oliver Rasmussen (DK) | Prema | 1:48.418 |
| 2nd | Dennis Hauger (NOR) | Van Amersfoort | 1:48.438 |
| 3rd | Paul Aron (EST) | Prema | 1:48.647 |
| 19th | Axel Gnos (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:51.499 |
| 20th | Emidio Pesce (I) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:51.507 |
| 25th | Jonny Edgar (GB) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:51.772 |
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race One (30 minutes + 1 lap)
Saturday, 31/08/19, 12.45, Weather: Sunny, 33°C
The first race started in the midday heat. Jonny slotted in in third behind Stanek and Hauger. Bellov followed in 4th. This quartet immediately set a rapid pace. Jonny drove well and gave Belov no chance to attack, while Hauger put pressure on Stanek, and Jonny followed closely behind Hauger. In the closing stages of the race Stanek made a mistake, clattered over the kerbs into the gravel trap and was able to rejoin the field shortly afterwards. However, it later transpired that his car was so badly damaged that he was forced to retire from the race. That meant Hauger was in the lead with Jonny following closely behind. Jonny piled on the pressure but Hauger did not make a mistake. On the very last lap, Jonny was very close to launching an attack, but he just ran out of time. Nevertheless, Jonny was very proud of his first podium and an excellent 2nd place in the overall standings, as well as victory in the rookie category. Emidio started well and had already worked his way up to 19th place, but his next attack failed and he dropped back to 22nd. In the end he finished an eventful race in 20th place. Axel didn’t get off the line at the start and was only able to get going after the rest of the field had gone. By then he was in 30th place. During the race he managed to work his way up again and set some good lap times as he fought his way back to 23rd.
| Race One Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Dennis Hauger (NOR) | Van Amersfoort | 32:06.458 | |
| 2nd | Jonny Edgar (GB) | Jenzer Motorsport | Gap | 0.279 |
| 3rd | Michael Belov (RUS) | Bhaitech | Gap | 1.115 |
| 20th | Emidio Pesce (I) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 22nd | Axel Gnos (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| Fastest lap: Jonny Edgar (GB) in 1:46.191 | ||||
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race Two (30 minutes + 1 lap)
Saturday, 31/08/19, 18.00, Weather: Cloudy, 31°C
It was still very hot in the evening when the second race started. Jonny didn’t get away cleanly and fell back to 8th place, and at the end of the first lap Axel was 16th and Emidio 24th. Soon there was an accident and the Safety Car had to be deployed. At the restart, Jonny managed to get past Rasmussen, and as the race progressed, there were two more safety car phases due to accidents, and at each restart, Jonny managed to overtake another car, first Cohen, then Aron. He reached the finish line in 5th place after a race which had been interrupted multiple times. Axel also managed to make up several places and finished 13th, while Emidio moved up to 21st place. All three of our cars safely made it to the chequered flag.
| Race Two Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Roman Stanek (D) | US Racing | 32:35.331 | |
| 2nd | Gianluca Petecof (BRA) | Prema | Gap | 0.601 |
| 3rd | Dennis Hauger (NOR) | Van Amersfoort | Gap | 0.843 |
| 5th | Jonny Edgar (GB) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 13th | Axel Gnos (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 21st | Emidio Pesce (I) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| Fastestlap: Roman Stanek (D) in 1:46.792 | ||||
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race Three (28 minutes + 1 lap)
Sunday, 01/09/2019, 12.20, Weather: Sunny, 29°C
Jonny made a good start, but then found himself suddenly boxed in and dropped back to 7th place. Setting some very fast lap times, he managed to improve his position and to move up to 5th place. However, just as he was well placed to attack on Aron, there was a Safety Car phase. After that, there was only one more lap left until the end of the race, and so his attack did not work out and he finished in 5th place. There was a lot going on at the back of the pack. Although Axel was already in 12th place shortly after the start, he collided with another driver, lost momentum and dropped back to 22nd place. By the end he was back up to 20th. Emidio also made good progress and was soon up in 21st place, but then he got involved in an incident, ran off track and dropped back to 26th. His recovery drive eventually netted him 22nd place.
| Race Three Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Dennis Hauger (NOR) | Van Amersfoort | 34:13.365 | |
| 2nd | Michael Belov (RUS) | Bhaitech | Gap | 0.549 |
| 3rd | Roman Stanek (D) | US Racing | Gap | 1.489 |
| 5th | Jonny Edgar (GB) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 20th | Axel Gnos (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 22nd | Emidio Pesce (I) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| Fastest lap: Michael Belov (RUS) in 1:45.538 | ||||
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race Four (28 minutes + 1 lap) (3rd race from Misano)
Sunday, 01/09/2019, 17.40, Weather: Cloudy, 31°C
The last race of the weekend started and it was still very hot. Almost immediately a slew of cars ended up stranded in the gravel traps and the Safety Car had to be deployed. Jonny was already in 20th at the restart and from there he started a titanic battle for positions, making up places lap by lap. Jonny managed to move up as far as 9th to also get into the points. Axel also made a good start, overtaking several cars immediately to battle his way into the top ten finishing the race in a good 10th place and grabbing the last available point. Emidio too made a good start and was steadily gaining places until he got involved in a situation that cost him several of those places. He finally crossed the finish line in 18th place.
The sixth race meeting of the Italian Formula championship is scheduled for the weekend of 6th October 2019 at Mugello (I).
| Race Four Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Dennis Hauger (NOR) | Van Amersfoort | 32:00.496 | |
| 2nd | Paul Aron (EST) | Prema | Gap | 4.016 |
| 3rd | Gianluca Petecof (BRA) | Prema | Gap | 6.833 |
| 9th | Jonny Edgar (GB) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 10th | Axel Gnos (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 18th | Emidio Pesce (I) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| Fastest lap: Dennis Hauger (NOR) in 1:45.538 | ||||
Championship Standings
FIA F4 Italian Championship 2019 after 15 races:
1st Dennis Hauger (NOR), 255 points; 2nd Gianluca Petecof (BRA), 202 points; 3rd Paul Aron (EST), 142 points; 4th Michael Belov (RUS), 121 points; 5th Ido Cohen (ISR), 93 points; 6th Joshua Dürksen (PRY), 88 points; 10th Jonny Edgar (GB), 71 points; 13th Giorgio Carrara (ARG), 37 points; 22nd Axel Gnos (CH), 3 points
Rookie Standings:
1st Paul Aron (EST), 231 points; 2nd Jonny Edgar (GB), 197 points; 3rd Joshua Durksen (PRY), 194 points; 4th Roman Stanek (CZE), 166 points; 5th Daniel Vebster (S), 137 points; 6th Roee Meyuhas (ISR), 108 points; 8th Axel Gnos (CH), 72 points; 16th Emidio Pesce (I), 21 points
Jonny Edgar (GB)
Axel Gnos (CH)
Emidio Pesce (I)
© Photo Pellegrini
2019 FIA FORMULA 4 ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP - CALENDAR
| 3rd/5th May | Vallelunga (I) | |
| 17th/19th May | Misano (I) | |
| 5th/7th July | Hungaroring (HU) | |
| 12th/14th July</td> | RedBull Ring (A) | |
| 30th August/1st September | Imola (I) | |
| 4th/6th October | Mugello (I) | |
| 18th/20th October | Monza (I) |
More info:
