Race Report
FIA FORMULA 4
ITALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 04/05/06
Circuit: Imola (I), Length: 4.909 km, 31st May – 2nd June 2024
www.autodromoimola.com
JENZER MOTORSPORT 2024:
Ethan Ischer (CH), Enea Frey (CH), Reno Francot (NL), Shimo Zhang (CN) and Matus Ryba (SK)
Francot in the points at Imola
The second of seven race meetings in the Italian FIA Formula 4 Championship took place on the characterful track at Imola (I). With 38 competitors present for the meeting, their expectations were as high as could be ahead of the start.
Qualifying
Saturday, 01/06/24, 10.40 – 10.55 Q1, Weather: Sunny, 27°C
Saturday, 01/06/24, 11.05 – 11.20 Q2
The rules allow for two qualifying sessions of 15 minutes, with a 10-minute break in between. The Qualifying 1 times determine the grid for Race 1 and the times from Qualifying 2 determine the grid for Race 2. The starting order for Race 3 is based on the 2nd best lap time of each driver in either of the two qualifying sessions.
With 38 cars on the track, it was no easy task to find the optimal lap in such a short time. In addition, there were two slow phases in Quali 1, during which "FCY" Full Course Yellow was shown. Anyone who did not slow down sufficiently during this period was penalized. So the rhythm had to be found again and again. Nevertheless, Reno managed to take 6th place on the starting grid for the first race, just 0.198 seconds behind the pole time. Enea was 19th with 0.724 seconds, Ethan 20th with 0.727 seconds, Shimo 28th with 1.182 seconds, and Matus 31st with 1.447 seconds behind the pole. Quali 2 ran without interruption, but our drivers did not improve enough compared to the others to further improve their positions.
| Results Qualifying 1 & Grid for Race One | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Hiyu Yamakoshi (JPN) | Van Amersfoort | 1:45.253 |
| 2nd | Freddie Slater (GBR) | Prema | 1:45.291 |
| 3rd | Akshay Bohra (USA) | US | 1:45.312 |
| 6th | Reno Francot (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.451 |
| 19th | Enea Frey (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.977 |
| 20th | Ethan Ischer (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.980 |
| 29th | Shimo Zhang (CN) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:46.435 |
| 31st | Matus Ryba (SK) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:46.700 |
| Results Qualifying 2 & Grid for Race Two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | FHiyu Yamakoshi (JPN) | Van Amersfoort | 1:44.831 |
| 2nd | Jack Beeton (AUS) | US | 1:45.177 |
| 3rd | Akshay Bohra (USA) | US | 1:45.184 |
| 14th | Reno Francot (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.404 |
| 17th | Ethan Ischer (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.594 |
| 26th | Shimo Zhang (CN) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:46.139 |
| 27th | Enea Frey (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:46.170 |
| 31st | Matus Ryba (SK) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:46.428 |
| Grid for Race Three | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Hiyu Yamakoshi (JPN) | Van Amersfoort | 1:45.125 |
| 2nd | Jack Beeton (AUS) | US | 1:45.202 |
| 3rd | Freddie Slater (GBR) | Prema | 1:45.219 |
| 9th | Reno Francot (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.439 |
| 21st | Ethan Ischer (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:45.899 |
| 26th | Shimo Zhang (CN) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:46.267 |
| 27th | Enea Frey (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:46.361 |
| 32nd | Matus Ryba (SK) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:46.595 |
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race One (30 minutes + 1 lap)
Saturday, 01/06/24, 17.30, Weather: Sunny, 27 °C
The young drivers waited a long time in the hot afternoon for the first race of the weekend to finally get underway. It was no surprise, then, that everyone was a little over-eager when it finally got going. There were several accidents and the Safety Car had to take over the field immediately. It turned out that four of our five drivers were already eliminated and out of action. Reno, Ethan, Enea and Matus were all involved in separate accidents and unfortunately their race was already over. Shimo held the fort for Jenzer Motorsport. He drove very well and starting from 29th place, he avoided all accidents and ended up finishing a good 15th in a race in which 25 cars out of 39 started were classified. He also finished 5th in the rookie ranking. After the race, the race winner, Slater, was disqualified from the classification due to a non-conforming front wing. A number of time penalties were also handed out, and Shimo moved up two places in the result.
| Race One Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Hiyu Yamakoshi (JPN) | Van Amersfoort | 33:17.039 | |
| 2nd | Akshay Bohra (USA) | US | Gap | 2.305 |
| 3rd | Dion Gowda (IND) | Prema | Gap | 3.478 |
| 13th | Shimo Zhang (CN) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| DNF: | Reno Francot (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| DNF: | Ethan Ischer (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| DNF: | Enea Frey (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| DNF: | Matus Ryba (SK) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| Fastest lap: Hiyu Yamakoshi (JPN) in 1:45.321 | ||||
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race Two (30 minutes + 1 lap)
Sunday, 02/06/24, 09.00, Weather: Sunny, 23°C
The start of the second race went well and the large field set off in beautiful sunshine. Reno got off to a good start and was fast. He improved to 12th place and put pressure on the man in front, Olivieri. First Reno caught Olivieri and shortly afterwards Rehm too. That put him in 10th place. Ethan had already gained places at the start and had worked his way up to 15th place. Shimo and Enea were in a battle with each other for laps, one was in front and then the other. Enea was 19th and Shimo, who had braked too late, was 23rd. Matus was doing well and gained places, but then he went off the track and fell back to 31st place. After two thirds of the race there were a few accidents and the safety car had to be deployed. Reno had moved up to 8th place. After the safety car came in, there was one race lap left. Reno was close to Jonsson, but there was not enough time to overtake without risking too much. Reno crossed the finish line in an excellent 8th place and collected important points. Ethan continued to improve his position and crossed the finish line in 12th place. This put him within reach of the top ten. Enea went off the track but was able to file into the field again and finished the race in 20th place. Matus had worked his way back up to 27th place and crossed the finish line safely. Shimo was unlucky because another competitor braked too late and hit the side of his car. Unfortunately, Shimo's race ended with a very damaged car just a few laps before the end.
After the race time penalties were handed out to Slater, Yeh and Powell, and with this Ethan, Enea and Shimo moved forward in the results list.
| Race Two Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Hiyu Yamakoshi (JPN) | Van Amersfoort | 33:18.655 | |
| 2nd | Akshay Bohra (USA) | US | Gap | 0.888 |
| 3rd | Dion Gowda (IND) | Prema | Gap | 0.893 |
| 8th | Reno Francot (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 11th | Ethan Ischer (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 18th | Enea Frey (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 25th | Matus Ryba (SK) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| DNF: | Shimo Zhang (CN) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| Fastest lap: Akshay Bohra (USA) in 1:45.677 | ||||
FIA Formula 4 Italian Championship
Race Three (30 minutes + 1 lap)
Sunday, 02/06/24, 15.30, Weather: Sunny, 21°C
As the cars were lined up on the pre-grid, a brief shower fell on the track. It had stopped by the start of the race and the asphalt dried quickly. Race three of the weekend was started on slick tires. Everyone had resolved to give their best one more time and the drivers were very aggressive right away. Reno was surprised by Al Dhaheri at the start and then drove several laps in 10th place. Finally, he attacked Al Dhaheri to regain 9th place. The two collided and Al Dhaheri spun off the track. Reno continued the race in 9th place. The safety car took over the field when two cars collided and had to be cleared away. Enea had moved up to 14th place, Ethan was 17th and Shimo 19th. Matus came into the pit lane after the start to have his front wing changed. He resumed the race and showed a nice comeback. When the safety car phase ended, things got serious again. Reno was battling with Stolcermanis and Gowda, and was now 10th. When Yamakoshi dropped out, he moved back up to 9th place and finished in that position. Enea was surprised by Mrad and crossed the finish line in 15th position. Shimo, on the other hand, had gained places and finished directly behind Enea in 16th place. Matus managed to work his way up to 22nd place by the end. Ethan was hit and made an excursion into the gravel trap. He slowly made his way back to the pit lane, where he had to retire shortly before the end of the race. He was classified in 31st place.
After the race, Reno was given a 25-second time penalty for his actions, as a drive-through penalty could no longer be applied. Matus also received a time penalty. This allowed Enea and Shimo to move up one position each.
| Race Three Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Freddie Slater (GBR) | Prema | 32:59.204 | |
| 2nd | Jack Beeton (AUS) | US | Gap | 5.036 |
| 3rd | Maxim Rehm (D) | US | Gap | 8.871 |
| 14th | Enea Frey (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 15th | Shimo Zhang (CN) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 24th | Reno Francot (NL) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 25th | Matus Ryba (SK) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| 31st | Ethan Ischer (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
| Fastest lap: Hiyu Yamakoshi (JPN) in 1:45.518 | ||||
Ethan Ischer (CH)
Enea Frey (CH)
Reno Francot (NL)
Shimo Zhang (CN)
Matus Ryba (SK)
Team
© Photo Pellegrini
Championship Standings
FIA F4 Italian Championship 2024 after 6 races:
1st Freddie Slater (GBR), 100 points; 2nd Hiyu Yamakoshi (JPN), 82 points; 3rd Akshay Bohra (USA), 73 points; 4th Alex Powell (USA), 66 points; 5th Jack Beeton (AUS), 40 points; 6th Dion Gowda (IND), 39 points; 14th Reno Francot (NL), 12 points; 15th Ethan Ischer (CH), 8 points
Rookie-Ranking:
1st Tomass Stolcermanis (LVA), 100 points; 2nd Alex Powell (USA), 93 points; 3rd Andrej Petrovic (SRB), 66 points; 10th Shimo Zhang (CHN), 28 points; 13th Enea Frey (CH), 10 points
2024 Italian FIA Formula 4 Championship
| 03/04/05 May | Misano (I) | |
| 31/01/02 June | Imola (I) | |
| 14/15/16 June | Vallelunga (I) | |
| 12/13/14 July | Mugello (I) | |
| 19/20/21 July | Paul Ricard (F) | |
| 27/28/29 September | Barcelona (E) | |
| 25/26/27 October | Monza (I) |
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