Coming from the ranks of international karting, Frenchman Evan Giltaire made a brilliant single-seater debut by winning Race 1 from pole position. The Spaniard Pol Lopez was able to exploit the inverted grid in Race 2 to win in turn.
For young drivers at the start of their motor racing career, the emotion is always palpable at the start of a new season, which they hope will be full of success or at least significant progress. Motivated and determined, the 26 drivers present at Nogaro with the FFSA Academy were eagerly awaiting the results of the first Qualifying session and the first race to get an idea of their potential in real conditions. As part of the Easter Cup at Nogaro, the academicians were able to test themselves under a magnificent blue sky and temperatures rising above 20°C throughout the day in this French F4 Championship which has only just begun…
Race 1: Giltaire dominates, duel for the podium
Faced with talented foreigners and repeaters determined to aim for the podium, Evan Giltaire (16 years old) took an early lead over his opponents on Saturday afternoon by taking first place in the Qualifying session. The only driver to go under the 1:28 mark, with a time of 1:27.870, he did not hesitate at the start and kept his advantage over Canadian Kevin Foster, selected by the Feed Racing school. The Frenchman Enzo Peugeot started 6th and immediately gained two places over his compatriot Romain Andriolo and the Japanese driver Hiyu Yamakoshi. As soon as he braked at the end of the straight, he surprised Enzo Richer and went after Foster.
While Giltaire was flying to victory on his first single-seater start with the fastest lap, Foster and Peugeot began a superb head to head. Despite several attempts, the Canadian held on until the end to secure 2nd place. Behind him, Romain Andriolo made the connection with Richer, but without being able to take the advantage. Japanese driver Hiyu Yamakoshi was passed by Spaniard Pol Lopez for 6th place and lost two places compared to his starting position. Germany’s Max Reis was one of the best performers of the race, moving up from 12th to 8th place ahead of Romania’s Luca Savu and Belgium’s Yani Stevenheydens.
Evan Giltaire’s comment
“After setting the fastest lap in Free Practice on Saturday morning, the Qualifying session was an important moment of the weekend and I was really happy to have reached my goal with the pole position. In the race I was quite surprised that I was able to open up a gap in the first few laps, which meant I wasn’t pushing hard on the tyres for the next few races.”
Race 2: Pol Lopez wins in a thriller
The top ten finishers of the Qualifying session reversed their positions on the starting grid for the second race of the Gers meeting, resulting in some very intense battles. At the end of the session, the Frenchman Louis Schlesser and Pol Lopez surprised Luca Savu to be the first to dive towards the farm bend under the passionate eyes of Jean-Louis Schlesser, multiple World Champion in Sports Cars and Rally-Raid, as well as a former F1 driver. Savu then found himself under pressure from Peugeot, who had a better start than Stevenheydens.
As the laps went by and the tyres wore out, the overtaking became more and more frequent. Lopez victoriously attacked Schlesser, who had been in the lead for several minutes. “I felt that I was faster than him at the end of the race and I knew how to take my chance. My first season in F4 in 2022 was quite difficult, but I learned a lot and I feel much better this season,” admitted the Spaniard, who set the fastest lap. “During our battle, we had to touch and I had a puncture. I couldn’t take the right hander at the end of the straight and I had to give up,” explained Louis Schlesser with regrets.
Already in the top three in the morning, Peugeot was able to overtake Savu for 2nd place and took Stevenheydens in his wake, who celebrated his first podium. Giltaire, who started 10th and drove a solid race after an excellent start, scored a good result with a 4th place ahead of Savu. 6th ahead of Yamakoshi, Andriolo gained one place compared to his starting position. The top 10 was completed by Foster, Reis – up three places – and Richer.
Continuation of the programme at Nogaro: Race 3, Monday 10th April from 11:25 to 11:55
> Ranking of Race 1
1 Evan Giltaire (France) with 15 laps
2 Kevin Foster (Canada) at 2.506
3 Enzo Peugeot (France) at 5.536
4 Enzo Richer (France) at 9.268
5 Romain Andriolo (France) at 10.127
6 Pol Lopez (Spain) at 12.168
7 Hiyu Yamakoshi (Japan) at 12.931
8 Max Reis (Germany) at 15.738
9 Luca Savu (Romania) at 16.655
10 Yani Stevenheydens (Belgium) at 17.055
11 Louis Schlesser (France) at 18.924
12 Tom Kalender (Germany) at 20.284
13 Garrett Berry (USA) at 20.944
14 Gabriel Doyle-Parfait (Great Britain) at 23.271
15 Adrien Closmenil (France) at 24.244
16 Leonardo Megna (Italy) at 26.389
17 Karel Schulz (France) at 27.566
18 Joao Paulo Diaz Balesteiro (Colombia) at 33.581
19 Edouard Borgna (France) at 34.223
20 Jason Leung (Canada) at 35.495
21 Finn Wiebelhaus (Germany) at 35.921
22 Yaroslav Veselaho (Ukraine) at 36.199
23 Frank Porte Ruiz (Andorra) at 44.523
24 Edgar Pierre (France) at 1:00.892
25 Paul Alberto (France) at 1:24.461
26 Andrei Duna (Romania) at 14 laps
FL: Giltaire in 1:28.218 (avg. 148.3 km)
> Race 2 classification
1 Pol Lopez (Spain) with 15 laps
2 Enzo Peugeot (France) at 3.489
3 Yani Stevenheydens (Belgium) at 4.133
4 Evan Giltaire (France) at 5.725
5 Luca Savu (Romania) at 11.712
6 Romain Andriolo (France) at 14.381
7 Hiyu Yamakoshi (Japan) at 14.767
8 Kevin Foster (Canada) at 15.250
9 Max Reis (Germany) at 16.095
10 Enzo Richer (France) at 19.127
11 Tom Kalender (Germany) at 19.466
12 Gabriel Doyle-Parfait (Great Britain) at 22.364
13 Jason Leung (Canada) at 26.011
14 Leonardo Megna (Italy) at 31.108
15 Garrett Berry (USA) at 31.688
16 Yaroslav Veselaho (Ukraine) at 33.585
17 Adrien Closmenil (France) at 36.321
18 Finn Wiebelhaus (Germany) at 36.439
19 Andrei Duna (Romania) at 36.571
20 Paul Alberto (France) at 37.383
21 Frank Porte Ruiz (Andorra) at 39.464
22 Edgar Pierre (France) at 40.772
23 Louis Schlesser (France) at 2 laps
24 Joao Paulo Diaz Balesteiro (Colombia) at 10 laps
25 Karel Schulz (France) at 11 laps
26 Edouard Borgna (France) at 14 laps
FL: Lopez in 1:29.590 (avg. 146.1 km/h)
