F4 Academy: Souta Arao the third winner in three races

After Hugh Barter and Romain Andriolo, the Japanese driver Souta Arao has added his name to the list of winners of the famous Pau Grand Prix, by holding off Australia’s Barter in Race 3. There was another podium for Giusti, now 3rd in the Championship.

The scenario of Race 1 was repeated in the Béarn city between Hugh Barter and Souta Arao, but in reverse. This time Barter started from pole position, only to see his rival pull away from his starting position more quickly. The Japanese driver was determined to take his revenge and made sure he did not make any mistakes. For his part, Barter pushed to the maximum and made several attempts to intimidate him. But to no avail! Barter may have set the fastest lap in the race, but Arao won Race 3, his first F4 victory on the European continent.

Important points for Giusti, good progress for Geraci

In the chasing pack, the starting grid was modified following the events of the previous day. In addition to the withdrawal of Yuto Nomura, who was due to start on the outside front row before retiring due to a damaged tub in Race 1, Elliott Vayron was penalised by three places and had to start in 8th position. Among the contenders for the third step of the podium, Alessandro Giusti confirmed his ease between the barriers and proved to be the only one able to follow the duel between the two leading drivers closely. The Frenchman reached the finish line without any problem, capitalising on the major points in the Championship where he is now in 3rd place, a few points behind Arao.

Behind, intense duels animated the race. 4th at the beginning of the race, Enzo Peugeot had a lot of difficulties in containing his closest rivals. After a good start, Enzo Geraci finally found the opening, immediately followed by Elliott Vayron. Peugeot went too far, dropping to the back of the pack on the last lap following an incident.

After losing two places at the start, Romain Andriolo was able to recover his initial 6th position, before dropping back to 15th following a 30-second sporting penalty. The Colombian Jeronimo Berrio was well inspired in this difficult context, and was therefore able to join the top six. Pierre-Alexandre Provost, who didn’t have an easy weekend, this time saved the points for 7th place. Swiss driver Dario Cabanelas managed to keep Pablo Sarrazin behind him during the 17 laps of the race. Not always very lucky since the beginning of the season, Edgar Pierre gained his place in the top 10 after a well-managed race from 15th place. The first laps saw the retirement of Belgian Lorens Lecertua, Frenchman Leny Réveillère and German Max Reis.

In the Championship, Hugh Barter increased his lead in the overall standings ahead of Souta Arao, Alessandro Giusti, Elliott Vayron and Pierre-Alexandre Provost.

> Race 3 standings

1 Souta Arao (Japan) with 17 laps
2 Hugh Barter (Australia) at 0″886
3 Alessandro Giusti (France) at 3″955
4 Enzo Geraci (France) at 13″325
5 Elliott Vayron (France) at 14″669
6 Jeronimo Berrio (Colombia) at 25″158
7 Pierre-Alexandre Provost (France) at 25″733
8 Dario Cabanelas (Switzerland) at 29″053
9 Pablo Sarrazin (France) at 29″671
10 Edgar Pierre (France) at 30″577
11 Mateo Villagomez (Ecuador) at 35″168
12 Pol Lopez Gutierrez (Andorra) at 42″546
13 Enzo Richer (France) at 42″982
14 Luciano Morano (France) at 46″547
15 Romain Andriolo (France) at (4″838)
16 Amir Sayed (India) at 55″848
17 Enzo Peugeot (France) at 1’06″231
18 Valentino Mini (Panama) at 1’17″096
19 Antoine Fernande (France) at 1 lap
20 Max Reis (Germany) at 2 laps
21 Leny Réveillère (France) at 3 laps
22 Lorens Lecertua (Belgium) at 17 laps
Non-starter : Louis Pelet (France)
Non-starter : Yuto Nomura (Japan)
FL: Hugh Barter in 1’17″529 (avg. 128,1 km/h)

> FIA French F4 Championship (provisional after Pau)

1 Barter (AUS) 108 pts, 2 Arao (JAP) 73 pts, 3 Giusti (FRA) 65 pts, 4 Vayron (FRA) 48 pts, 5 Provost (FRA) 36 pts, 6 Cabanelas (SUI) 34 pts, 7 Geraci (FRA) 31 pts, 8 Peugeot (FRA) 28 pts, 9 Momura (JAP) 23 pts, 10 Andriolo (FRA) 18 pts, 11 Lecertua (BEL) 18 pts, 12 Reis (GER) 16 pts, 13 Berrio (COL) 14 pts, 14 Pierre (FRA) 10 pts, 15 Sarrazin (FRA) 6 pts, 16 Mini (PAN) 2 pts

FFSA Academy Press Release / Photo © KSP – Guillaume Veuve