Already leader of the Championship since the opening of the French F4 Championship at Nogaro, Giltaire continued his momentum at Magny-Cours by winning Race 1 after a great fight, before moving up to 4thd in Race 2, won by Closmenil.
The 26 single-seaters prepared by the FFSA Academy put on two very intense races on the Magny-Cours international circuit, with countless overtaking manoeuvres and incessant battles for the podium, as well as for the places of honour. After having made a big impression in the Easter Cup on his debut, Evan Giltaire confirmed that he will be a strong contender for the title in 2023 against very tough competition. The absence of incidents at the front of the field in the two Saturday races demonstrates the qualities and maturity of the podium contenders. Organised as a curtain raiser to the prestigious FFSA-French GT Championship, Race 3 on Sunday promises a high-flying show…
Race 1: The young French hopefuls are there
Chased by the Spaniard Pol Lopez, the Japanese Hiyu Yamakoshi and the Canadian Kevin Foster, the French trio of Evan Giltaire, Enzo Peugeot and Romain Andriolo frequently exchanged positions after a start that altered the order. Indeed, the poleman Giltaire was slightly slipping at the end of the race and it was Enzo Peugeot who was the first to enter the big curve after the start. Giltaire then found himself on the outside of Adelaide and lost two more places to Andriolo and Lopez. A collision at the back of the field led to a safety car, but Giltaire had the time to overtake Lopez then Andriolo, and to attack the Peugeot on the restart.
The manoeuvre between the two drivers turned to the advantage of Giltaire, who went on to win with the fastest lap. Andriolo, who had a front row seat to watch the duel, tried his luck and succeeded. Securing the third step of the podium, Peugeot resisted Lopez until the end, who was himself forced to watch the Japanese Hiyu Yamakoshi in his mirrors. On the track that saw him win the Feed Racing driving school final last September, Foster scored the points for 6th place. Belgian Yani Stevenheydens was stuck on the grid in 7th place and had to settle for 18th. Italian Leonardo Megna and American Garrett Berry started 9th and 12th respectively, and climbed up to 7th and 8th positions. Enzo Richer dropped to 11th after the restart, before passing Edgar Pierre and Adrien Closmenil for 9th place.
Race 2: A promising success for Adrien Closmenil
As is traditional, the top 10 of the Qualifying session have reversed places on the starting grid. Despite the stakes and the pressure, and also two two interventions of the security car and therefore two restarts, the Norman Adrien Closmenil did not hesitate. He kept his opponents behind him during the whole race to win. The Italian Leonardo Megna followed the leader without making any mistakes and moved up to 2nd position. Behind him, Evan Giltaire made sure of a show by moving up from 10th to 3rd place, while managing the neutralisation perfectly. For having overstepped the limits of the track, Giltaire finally dropped one place and it was Kevin Foster who completed the top-3.
After his disappointment in Race 1, Belgian Yani Stevenheydens took his revenge by finishing 5th. Enzo Peugeot gained three places by moving up to 6th ahead of Romain Andriolo, with the final point going to Japan’s Hiyu Yamakoshi. Enzo Richer, who was locked in at the start from 3rd, had to settle for 10th place behind the Spaniard Pol Lopez.
Continuation of the programme at Magny-Cours: Race 3, Sunday 7th May from 08:25 to 08:55
> Race 1 standings
1 Evan Giltaire (France) with 11 laps
2 Romain Andriolo (France) at 3.079
3 Enzo Peugeot (France) at 3.285
4 Pol Lopez (Spain) at 3.680
5 Hiyu Yamakoshi (Japan) at 3.932
6 Kevin Foster (Canada) at 4.487
7 Leonardo Megna (Italy) at 5.907
8 Garrett Berry (USA) at 6.513
9 Enzo Richer (France) at 8.419
10 Edgar Pierre (France) at 8.743
11 Adrien Closmenil (France) at 9.051
12 Paul Alberto (France) at 10.482
13 Finn Wiebelhaus (Germany) at 10.883
14 Louis Schlesser (France) at 11.447
15 Gabriel Doyle-Parfait (Great Britain) at 13.745
16 Yaroslav Veselaho (Ukraine) at 14.022
17 Edouard Borgna (France) at 15.141
18 Yani Stevenheydens (Belgium) at 15.582
19 Tom Kalender (Germany) at 17.943
20 Karel Schulz (France) at 20.727
21 Andrei Duna (Romania) at 22.124
22 Frank Porte Ruiz (Andorra) at 22.600
23 Jason Leung (Canada) at 46.054
24 Max Reis (Germany), retired on lap 3
25 Joao Paulo Diaz Balesteiro (Colombia), retired on lap 2
26 Luca Savu (Romania), retired on lap 2
Pole position: Giltaire in 1:40.459
FL: Giltaire in 1:40.979 (average distance 157.2 km/h)
> Race 2 standings
1 Adrien Closmenil (France) with 11 laps
2 Leonardo Megna (Italy) at 0.630
3 Kevin Foster (Canada) at 2.528
4 Evan Giltaire (France) at 2.308 (+ 1 penalty position)
5 Yani Stevenheydens (Belgium) at 2.845
6 Enzo Peugeot (France) at 3.307
7 Romain Andriolo (France) at 3.627
8 Hiyu Yamakoshi (Japan) at 3.997
9 Pol Lopez (Spain) at 4.505
10 Enzo Richer (France) at 4.921
11 Edgar Pierre (France) at 5.212
12 Max Reis (Germany) at 5.650
13 Finn Wiebelhaus (Germany) at 5.925
14 Garrett Berry (USA) at 6.189
15 Edouard Borgna (France) at 6.691
16 Andrei Duna (Romania) at 7.683
17 Paul Alberto (France) at 9.118
18 Tom Kalender (Germany) at 9.420
19 Luca Savu (Romania) at 10.033
20 Joao Paulo Diaz Balesteiro (Colombia) at 10.949
21 Frank Porte Ruiz (Andorra) at 13.074
22 Gabriel Doyle-Parfait (Great Britain) at 13.492
23 Jason Leung (Canada) at 17.018
24 Karel Schulz (France) at 17.923
25 Yaroslav Veselaho (Ukraine), retired on lap 6
26 Louis Schlesser (France), retired on lap 1
FL: Megna in 1:41.880 (avg. 155.8 km/h)
