Competition

F4 Academy: Guaranteed suspense for the title!

Reshad De Gerus confirmed his supremacy at Magny-Cours by winning Race 3, leading from start to finish and further narrowing the gap with the leader Hadrien David. Isack Hadjar won in Junior, but everything will be decided in October at Paul Ricard.

Defeated twice by Hadrien David in Hungary, Reshad De Gerus took revenge a week later at Magny-Cours, imitating his rival. Since the beginning of the season, the duel between these two hopefuls has been exciting and followers will need to wait for the very last event of the French F4 Championship, in mid-October at Paul Ricard, to find out the name of the winner. David still has the cards in his hands, but his lead is fragile and the total with dropped scores is favourable to him by only one point.

A radiant Sunday for De Gerus
The Burgundy meeting has definitely benefited from optimal weather conditions from Free Practice until Race 3, where the safety car helped maintain the suspense for the ultimate podium. The gap between the leader and the group of pursuers has always remained small. Taking advantage of the best spot on the grid and a flawless start, Reshad De Gerus was able to gain a few lengths over Hadrien David, before two consecutive incidents occurred on the fourth lap. Enzo Valente was the unfortunate victim of an Adelaide braking collision, while Denmark’s Valdemar Eriksen and Pierre-François Duriani touched a few corners further on, finishing their race in the gravel. The safety car entered the track to enable the cars to be moved, resetting the gaps to zero between the frontrunners.

“The goal was that Hadrien could not use my slipstream,” confessed De Gerus. “I managed the restart and quickly attained a fast pace so as not to be worried until the end. It was important to be more competitive than Hadrien here at Magny-Cours in the two most important races of the weekend. This new victory was essential, as it allows me to continue to believe in my chances for the French Championship which has been my objective since the beginning of the season.” Note that the driver from the island of Reunion will be able to use his two new wildcard tyres when he wants at Le Castellet, unlike Hadrien who has already used them.

Van der Henst continues to grow in strength
Confirming a clear performance since Lédenon, the Belgian Sten Van der Henst was one of the great leaders of the race. While Gillian Henrion had to give up his 3rd place on the grid because of a mechanical problem, Van der Henst recovered from his starting position on the third row outside line. He continued to worry David repeatedly, while repelling attacks from the American Nicky Hays. It should be remembered that Van der Henst had been able to take advantage of the reverse grids to mount the podium twice in Race 2s, but this time he savoured his 3rd place behind the two best drivers of the season. In addition to setting the fastest lap, Hays continued his points harvest overall and is close to the final podium of the Championship.

Behind that was another hard-fought duel between Victor Bernier, Jules Mettetal and Isack Hadjar, watched by a very combative Ugo Gazil. Thanks to a superb manoeuvre, Hadjar passed the two drivers ahead of him in a single stroke. After a disappointing Saturday, through no fault of his own, Isack crossed the finish in 5th place for the Junior victory. Here again, the title is undecided among the younger drivers, especially as Bernier was penalised for a jumped start after the finish. 6th ahead of Evan Spenle, Jules Mettetal secured a place more in keeping with his potential. Due to a penalty for Ugo Gazil and a disqualification for Mathis Poulet, the top 10 was completed by Japan’s Kakunoshin Ota, the South African Stuart White and Denmark’s Mikkel Grundtvig. As for the American Bryson Lew, he was celebrating his first point of the season.

The next meeting for the FFSA Academy F4 will be from 11th to 13th October at the Le Castellet (Paul Ricard Circuit) for the final round of the 2019 French Championship Grand Cru!

Provisional ranking of the French F4 Championship after Magny-Cours (6/7)

1- Hadrien David (FRA) – 247 pts
2- Reshad De Gerus (FRA) – 233,5 pts
3- Nicky Hays (USA) – 147 pts
4- Gilian Henrion (FRA) – 122 pts
5- Isack Hadjar (FRA) – 110 pts
6- Victor Bernier (FRA) – 104 pts
7- Enzo Valente (FRA) – 101 pts
8- Stuart White (ZAF) – 97 pts
9- Sten Van der Henst (BEL) – 87,5 pts
10- Evan Spenle (FRA) – 84 pts
11- Ugo Gazil (FRA) – 49 pts
12- Jules Mettetal (FRA) – 49 pts
13- Mikkel Grundtvig (DNK) – 28 pts
14- Paul-Adrien Pallot (FRA) – 23 pts
15- Valdemar Eriksen (DNK) – 19 pts
16- Pierre-François Duriani (FRA) – 18 pts
17- Mathis Poulet (FRA) – 16 pts
18- Bryson Lew (USA) – 1 pt
19- Simon Ohlin (SWE) – 0 pt