In fine weather and on a dry track, Yani Stevenheydens led Race 3 from start to finish, beating Frank Porte Ruiz and Jules Caranta. The Belgian regained the lead in the French F4 Championship standings.
With the starting grid for Race 3 defined by the second fastest laps of each driver in Friday’s Qualifying session, Belgian Yani Stevenheydens took pole position ahead of Frenchman Augustin Bernier, Andorran Frank Porte Ruiz and Frenchman Arthur Dorison. But from the very first lap, the order changed…
Suspense for the podium
Stevenheydens dived into the lead at the first bend after a perfect start, but Porte Ruiz surprised Bernier, while Jules Caranta immediately moved up from 7th to 4th place ahead of Chester Kieffer, Jules Roussel and Arthur Dorison, who dropped four positions. Behind Taito Kato and Enzo Caldaras, the duel for 10th place between Leonardo Megna and Montego Maassen ended with both drivers going off track. Forced to drive around them, Rayan Caretti plunged to the back of the pack.
The safety car made a brief appearance, before Stevenheydens resumed his advance. Faster for a few laps and back to within a few lengths of the leader, Porte Ruiz kept the suspense going, before letting off the pressure, while securing a superb 2nd place behind the Belgian.
The end of the race was lively, with a breathless duel between Bernier and Caranta. After passing Roussel and then Kieffer, Kato closed the gap to join the duo. In the end, it was Caranta who emerged victorious from this battle to complete the podium, followed like a shadow by Kato, with Bernier crossing the finish line in 5th position.
A change in the Championship
Kieffer, who had been unlucky the day before, returned to the points by finishing 6th ahead of Jules Roussel, who repeated his performance from Race 1. On the podium the day before, Caldaras enjoyed his best weekend since his F4 debut in 9th place ahead of Ireland’s Alex O’Grady. Canadian Jason Leung was just outside the points ahead of Edouard Borgna.
On the strength of his two victories, Stevenheydens left Germany as Championship leader with 168 points compared to 159 for Caranta, winner of Race 1, and 158 for Kato. The Japanese driver loses the lead, but the positions remain very close between the top three. Kieffer did not fare as well as his title rivals, and he was relegated to 59 points behind Stevenheydens.
> Race 3 standings
1 Yani Stevenheydens (Belgium) with 10 laps
2 Frank Porte Ruiz (Andorra) at 2.093
3 Jules Caranta (France) at 4.042
4 Taito Kato (Japan) at 4.419
5 Augustin Bernier (France) at 5.076
6 Chester Kieffer (Luxembourg) at 5.741
7 Jules Roussel (France) at 7.172
8 Enzo Caldaras (France) at 10.898
9 Arthur Dorison (France) at 11.241
10 Alex O’Grady (Ireland) at 11.632
11 Jason Leung (Canada) at 14.553
12 Edouard Borgna (France) at 15.921
13 Roméo Leurs (France) at 18.495
14 Karel Schulz (France) at 18.821
15 Dylan Estre (France) at 19.840
16 Mathilda Paatz (Germany) at 20.154
17 Alexandre Munoz (France) at 20.615
18 Louis Schlesser (France) at 22.103
19 Paul Roques (France) at 24.220
20 Leonardo Megna (Italy) at 24.879
21 Rayan Caretti (Thailand) at 25.702
22 Arjun Chheda (India) at 26.610
23 Tom Le Brech (France) at 27.288
24 Montego Maassen (Germany) at 35.600
25 Gabriel Doyle-Parfait (Great Britain) at 47.687
FL: Kato in 2:01.787 (avg. 152.1 km/h)
> Provisional Championship standings after Nürburgring
1 Stevenheydens 168 pts, 2 Caranta 159 pts, 3 Kato 158 pts, 4 Kieffer 109 pts, 5 Caretti 89 pts, 6 Porte Ruiz 60 pts, 7 Bernier 52 pts, 8 Roussel 45 pts, 9 O’Grady 34 pts, 10 Megna 32 pts, 11 Leung 21 pts, 12 Estre 20 pts, 13 Caldaras 19 pts, 14 Doyle-Parfait 17 pts, 15 Dorison 7 pts, 16 Maassen and Schulz 4 pts, 18 Munoz 2 pts, 19 Borgna 1 pt.
> Next race on 23-24-25 August at Magny-Cours
Photo © KSP / Gruppe C
