POINTS ON HOME SOIL AT MUGELLO, ITALY
Round five of the Formula Regional Championship at Mugello, Italy, started on Thursday with two 2 hour test sessions for our 3 drivers. The action really got underway on Friday with 2 practice sessions.
Friday started off reasonably well with a top-10 time for Noah and a top-20 time for Giovanni. Edgar was struggling a bit more to find a good pace on Friday.
After a Friday with mixed feelings, it was time to show our true pace during Q1 on Saturday morning. Noah was able to put in a good lap during Q1, resulting in a P3 in Group A and P6 on the grid of Race 1. Our other Rookie driver, Edgar Pierre, managed to qualify on P26 out of the 33 drivers in his first qualifying at Mugello. Giovanni qualified in P24 for the first race of the weekend.
…RESULTING IN 2 VERY IMPORTANT POINTS
Starting from P6, Noah was on the hunt for points in Race 1. Unfortunately he lost one position in the first laps of the race, while Giovanni and Edgar maintained their positions, having started from P24 and P26. On lap 3 of the race, Maschio crashed out of the race after contact with another driver, resulting in a visit to the gravel traps. After a short safety car period due to the crash of Giovanni, Noah was fighting hard to maintain his P8 position, but unfortunately he did not have enough pace to defend his position. This did however, stil mean a P9 finish and 2 very imported points for the championship. Edgar managed to gain one place during the race and finished in P25.
Mugello (ITA), JUL 11 – 14 2024 – Round 5 of Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine 2024 at Mugello Circuit. Giovanni MASCHIO #99, RPM. © 2024 Dutch Photo Agency.
On Sunday morning, Noah and Giovanni had a good pace in the 2nd qualifying session, resulting in a P7 and a P19 respectively. Edgar in the meantime was struggling to find a clean lap, which resulted in a P29 on the grid for Race 2. Once again Noah did not have the pace to attack the drivers in front and had to defend hard to finish in the points. Giovanni in the meantime had a great start of the race and gained a few places. Unfortunately he was pushed wide on lap 4 and lost his gained places, resulting in a P23 finish. Noah was able to score 2 points once again with a P9 finish. Edgar gained a few places during the race and finished in P25.
Driver standings after round 5:
P9 Noah – 46 points
P25 Giovanni– 0 points
P28 Edgar – 0 points
Team standings after round 5:
P5 – 46 points