F4 Academy: Hugh Barter goes it alone in Race 1

At Magny-Cours, Hugh Barter took full advantage of his pole position to take the lead on the Estoril curve, while Elliott Vayron got a better start than Dario Cabanelas and took 2nd place from him. Vayron stayed close to Barter on the first lap, but the Australian started to open up a gap on the following lap. Behind Vayron, a duel between Swiss driver Cabanelas and Belgian driver Lorens Lecertua started. In the pack, Enzo Peugeot and Romain Andriolo made the best progress.

At the front, Barter wasn’t worried anymore and rode solo to his fourth victory of the season. Vayron continued to keep an eye on the Cabanelas-Lecertua duo in his rear-view mirrors as they exchanged positions. Unfortunately, the two drivers ended up touching each other. Lecertua was forced to take to the side of the track due to a damaged wing, while Cabanelas had to return to the pits due to a rear puncture.

This was good news for Japanese driver Souta Arao, who took 3rd place, which was also coveted by Alessandro Giusti. The positions remained the same. Behind a dominant Barter, Vayron secured 2nd place ahead of Arao and Giusti. Lecertua received a penalty and surrendered his 5th position to the Colombian Jeronimo Berrio.

Enzo Peugeot started in 13th position and managed to gain seven places. He left behind Edgar Pierre and Louis Pelet, who celebrated his first points of the season. Japanese driver Yuto Nomura had a rather lively race in the pack, but ended up keeping his 9th place from the start. Pierre-Alexandre Provost was just inside the top 10 after getting the better of Romain Andriolo. At the end of the race, a final collision eliminated Valentino Mini and delayed Luciano Morano.

Info FFSA Academy / Photo © KSP – Guillaume Veuve