The penultimate weekend of the Italian F4 Championship got off to a fiery start at the Misano World Circuit in Race 1. US Racing’s Indian driver Ary Bansal claimed his second victory of the season, this time converting pole position into a win thanks to a strong start.
Prema Racing’s Alp Aksoy also made a great getaway, gaining one position to move into second and remaining there until the chequered flag. The Turkish driver returned to the overall podium and also claimed victory in the Rookie class.
Third on the podium was Sicilian driver Ludovico Busso of US Racing, who also benefited from a strong start and made the most of the early stages of the race. His result was also helped by several incidents involving drivers at the front, bringing out the Safety Car.
One of the most significant incidents involved Florentin Hattemer of Trident Motorsport and Dean Pedersen of CRAM Motorsport as they battled for a podium position.
Championship leader Luka Sammalisto was also forced down the order following an incident. Ahead of the race, there had been a possibility of wrapping up the title as early as Saturday, but Friday’s wet qualifying session and some difficulties in Race 1 put that possibility out of reach. Sammalisto was involved in a contact and had to fight his way back from the rear of the field, eventually scoring valuable points in twelfth place.
Maffi Racing’s Danish driver David Walther finished fourth, ahead of Van Amersfoort Racing’s Polish driver Alex Ruta and US Racing’s Oleksandr Savinkov. The three drivers were involved in a close battle for the positions at the front.
Another particularly impressive performance came from ACI Team Italia driver Iacopo Martinese. The Italian PHM Racing driver finished seventh overall and second in the Rookie classification. Completing the Rookie podium was Swiss driver Levi Arn of Jenzer Motorsport, who crossed the line in eighth.
Bader Al Sulaiti, also representing Andreas Jenzer’s team, finished ninth. US Racing’s Australian driver Noah Killion was tenth, ahead of Prema Racing’s Swiss driver Georgiy Zasov.
American driver Dean Pedersen finished thirteenth, behind Sammalisto, ahead of PHM Racing’s Oscar Repetto and Van Amersfoort Racing’s Thomas Bearman. Bearman had initially been among the leading group but was forced to fight his way back after being involved in a contact during the hectic opening stages of Race 1.
Mercedes junior driver Kenzo Craigie is now mathematically out of contention for the championship title. The British driver had initially been among the six drivers still in contention to challenge Sammalisto’s lead, but was forced to pit after fighting for a podium position in the early stages of the race. Craigie has now moved up to second in the Rookie standings, with Aksoy moving ahead of him.
The results remain provisional pending the completion of technical and sporting checks.
Ary Bansal: “It was quite good. We managed to get a really good start, but Aksoy also got a good start. From then on, it was just about staying in front and putting in consistent laps, because overtaking here is very difficult.”
Alp Aksoy: “We got a good launch. We started third and ended up second and P1 in the Rookie class. Definitely a good start. Let’s see what we can do in the next one. The pace is there, and I just want to say thank you to the whole team.”
Ludovico Busso: “I managed to make a good start and gain some positions at the beginning. I also took advantage of my rivals’ mistakes, managed to move up and get into third place. From there to the end, it was just about managing the race. I tried to stay with Ary and Alp, but they had more pace in the final laps and I had to keep an eye on what was happening behind. I’m really happy with this podium. I want to thank my sponsors, my family and my team.”
Iacopo Martinese: “Making a good start from the very beginning made a big difference. I managed to avoid the various incidents ahead of me, and I think that was the key moment. I had a good restart behind the Safety Car, but staying calm and taking positions whenever the opportunity came was also very important.”
Levi Arn: “It’s not the result I wanted. I want to be a little further up the order. The team did an amazing job and I’ll try to do better in the next race. I like the rain, but it’s really fun here in the dry. I adapt to the conditions, and I really like Misano, it’s fun to race here!”
The drivers will return to the track later today, Saturday 19 September, for another race, with Groups A and B set to take the start at 5:05 PM.
On Sunday, 20 September, Race 3, featuring Groups A and C, will take place at 10:10 AM and will be the final qualifying race. Based on the results, the top 36 drivers will qualify for the final, scheduled for 4:20 PM.
All races will run for 25 minutes plus one lap and will be broadcast live on the official Italian F4 Championship and ACI Sport TV channels, as well as across the international network of broadcasters covering the championship worldwide.