The second race in the French F4 Championship was a real thriller with numerous twists. Dane Lasse Sorensen, unbeatable all weekend so far, made a stunning comeback to score his second win of the meeting. Hard-charging Russian Denis Bulatov finished second just in front of Australian Joseph Mawson, who was delighted to be back on the podium!
The reversed grid of the first 10 in heat 1 meant that four French drivers locked out the first two rows with Valentin Hasse Clot on pole for the second race of the weekend in the Vienne. Alongside him was Amaury Richard followed by Bryan Elpitiya and Dorian Boccolacci on the second row.
Hasse Clot made the best start followed by Richard and Boccolacci who gave each other no quarter in the early stages of the second race and rubbed bodywork. Behind the leading trio the heat was on as the other drivers swapped places in an action-packed first lap.
The winner of race 1, Lasse Sorensen, started from 10th spot on the grid and had a cautious opening lap in which he moved up to eight place.
There was no letup in the action on lap 2 as Russian Denis Bulatov got the better of Bryan Elpitiya for fifth.
The field was tightly packed and on lap 2 there were two casualties among the front-runners Anglo-Swiss Félix Hirsiger and Swiss Paul Hockfelt Jr who had finished second and third in the first round. They collided bringing their race to a premature halt.
Up front Hasse Clot was starting to eke out a gap while Boccolacci slipped by Richard to go into second place. Joseph Mawson was glued to his gearbox and was pushing hard. On lap 3 Bulatov and Elpitiya traded places and the Frenchman managed to make a pass stick to take fourth spot.
Sorensen was now in maximum attack mode and moved up another place as he continued his comeback by passing Richard into seventh.
As the half-way mark of the race approached the positions at the front tightened up. Hasse Clot came under heavy pressure from Boccolacci who had Mawson climbing all over him followed by Elpitiya and Sorensen who was now fifth. The Dane sliced past Elpitiya and then Mawson a few corners further on to take third as he continued his stunning fightback.
The leading group consisting of six drivers put on a thrilling spectacle in which fair play dominated.
Six laps before the end Hasse Clot went off all by himself at the end of the straight handing the leadership to the incredible Sorensen. Hasse Clot’s off-course excursion hindered Boccolacci who fell back to fourth, while Mawson took advantage of it to grab second in front of Bulatov.
The unfortunate Hasse Clot managed to restart but limped back to his pit with a heavy heart to retire. Mexican Patricio O’Ward moved up to fifth closely followed by the combative Elpitiya.
Valentin Moineault was another driver who made a big impression in this race. He started in 12th place and with three laps to go was up into in ninth.
The closing stages of the race saw a no-holds-barred duel between Richard, Russian Vladimir Aotev and Moineault for seventh place closely followed by Finn Simo Laaksonen and David Droux from Switzerland.
Sorensen reeled off the closing laps with ease and scored his second well-deserved win of the weekend.
Bulatov finished on the second step of the podium after finding his way past Mawson on the final lap. The Australian was third.
Rendezvous for race 3: Sunday 6th July at 11h55
Quotes
Lasse Sorensen: “It was a difficult race with closely-fought battles and retirements. All that mattered to me was to score points so I held back a little early on and waited for the others to make mistakes. When I took the lead I pushed hard! Tomorrow, I’m starting from pole and I won’t give an inch!”
Denis Bulatov: “It was difficult early on with the other drivers who were in front of me, but I drove a good race as I started in sixth place and finished second. Tomorrow, it’ll be more difficult for me as I’m in eighth place on the grid.”
Joseph Mawson: “I’m happy to be back on the podium, but as I could have finished second I’m slightly disappointed. I tried to defend my position but I made a mistake. I scored big points in view of the championship and I’m satisfied with that.”
Info Auto Sport Academy / © Photo KSP