Five races, five different winners! The expected suspense of the 2024 FFSA Academy French F4 Championship was in evidence at the start of the season. Japan’s Taito Kato was dominant in Race 3, taking the lead overall.
Following on from Belgium’s Yani Stevenheydens and France’s Jules Caranta at Nogaro, and Luxembourg’s Chester Kieffer and Andorra’s Frank Porte Ruiz on Saturday at Lédenon, Japan’s Taito Kato took his first victory by winning Sunday’s Race 3 from pole position. The leaders of the Easter Cup were generally confirmed, with Kieffer now determined to also play a major role after his rise to 4th place overall. Six different nationalities occupy the top six places in the provisional standings of the French F4 Championship, which confirms its status as the benchmark international series in Europe.
An unflappable leader and an intense duel for the podium
Race 3 got underway at the very start of a fine Sunday day in the south of France, with Taito Kato getting off to a faultless start. More hesitant, Jules Caranta was overtaken by Chester Kieffer and then by Yani Stevenheydens. Jules Roussel tried to infiltrate the group, but eventually lost a position to emerge 5th from the first corners. In the pack, Karel Schulz made an excellent start. In the lead of the race, Kato immediately set a strong pace to protect himself from an attack from Kieffer.
In a race without any major incident or safety car, Kato managed to lead from start to finish, before beating Kieffer by just over a second. Once again the fastest driver on track, Caranta put Stevenheydens under pressure and finally took the lead on lap 13 thanks to a superbly controlled pass.
Behind him, the chasing pack eventually stretched out. Frenchman Jules Roussel held on to 5th place ahead of his compatriot Augustin Bernier, Thailand’s Rayan Caretti and Ireland’s Alex O’Grady. As on the previous day, Arthur Dorison continued to make progress as the laps went by. Starting 13th, the young French hopeful finished 9th, with the 10th place point going to Dylan Estre. It was a disappointment for Karel Schulz, who had to retire, as did the winner of Race 2, Andorran Frank Porte Ruiz, who was in the top ten. Louis Schlesser and Gabriel Doyle-Parfait both moved up six places to 13th and 14th respectively behind Montego Maassen and Enzo Caldaras.
With four podiums including one victory in five races, Japan’s Taito Kato is the new Championship leader with 83 points ahead of Belgium’s Yani Stevenheydens on nine points and France’s Jules Caranta on 10. These very small gaps augur well for the rest of the Championship.
> Race 3 standings
1 Taito Kato (Japan) with 16 laps
2 Chester Kieffer (Luxembourg) at 1.178
3 Jules Caranta (France) at 3.506
4 Yani Stevenheydens (Belgium) at 4.609
5 Jules Roussel (France) at 7.564
6 Augustin Bernier (France) at 11.067
7 Rayan Caretti (Thailand) at 15.687
8 Alex O’Grady (Ireland) at 18.543
9 Arthur Dorison (France) at 23.348
10 Dylan Estre (France) at 24.889
11 Montego Maassen (Germany) at 27.092
12 Enzo Caldaras (France) at 27.272
13 Louis Schlesser (France) at 28.736
14 Gabriel Doyle-Parfait (Great Britain) at 29.256
15 Jason Leung (Canada) at 31.847
16 Leonardo Megna (Italy) at 34.336
17 Edouard Borgna (France) at 35.141
18 Arjun Chheda (India) at 41.242
19 Roméo Leurs (France) at 42.827
20 Tom Le Brech (France) at 43.610
21 Paul Roques (France) at 46.059
22 Alexandre Munoz (France) at 47.116
23 Frank Porte Ruiz (Andorra) with 14 laps
24 Karel Schulz (France) with 12 laps
25 Mathilda Paatz (Germany) with 7 laps
FL: Caranta in 1:19.866 (avg. 142.2 km/h)
> Provisional Championship standings after Lédenon
1 Kato 83 pts, 2 Stevenheydens 74 pts, 3 Caranta 73 pts, 4 Kieffer 58 pts, 5 Caretti 52 pts, 6 Megna and Roussel 20 pts, 8 Porte Ruiz 19 pts, 9 Bernier 17 pts, 10 Leung 15 pts, 11 O’Grady 14 pts, 12 Estre 13 pts, 13 Dorison 5 pts, 14 Maasen and Schulz 4 pts.
Next race on 21st-23rd June in Belgium at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
