The F4 meeting at Magny-Cours won’t leave a lasting impression in Dorian Boccolacci’s first season in cars. His joy at getting on the podium again in race 1 quickly gave way to the disappointment of losing ground due to incidents on the track in races 2 and 3. However, the lessons learned from this experience are indispensable learning for a young driver and Dorian will emerge stronger for the events coming up.
After two months off, the restart of competition was accompanied by an understandable desire to make his mark. Dorian was desperate to score points in the championship and not let Sorensen get away in the lead. Used to the full attack mode of kart racing, he had to cope with rapid tyre degradation on his car at the fast track of Magny-Cours. Third in the qualifying session, he could not compete with the pace of the top two in race 1 and was content with 3rd place.
“I use my tyres too much…” he explained, annoyed. “With new tyres, I was perfectly on the pace, but then my times stagnated and I was missing a few tenths compared to the fastest. We are aware of the problem and I will have to adapt myself to the situation.”
7th on the grid, which was inverted for the top 10, Dorian had a good card to play in Race 2 Unfortunately this race was risky with drivers with who are less accustomed to being at the front of and leading the pack. While attacking to regain places on the first lap, Dorian crashed at the water tower and flew into an opponent. His run ended on the following lap with the car too damaged at the front to continue.
There was another incident, as he prepared to pass on the third lap of race 3, at Adelaide this time, which put him down to 12th position, with no opportunity to recover later. “I hadn’t taken unnecessary risks. I knew I could make a difference under braking. Unfortunately, I was caught between two competitors and I lost 4 places; and again, it could have been worse. I did not have the opportunity to move back up after that.“
Dorian is now 3rd place in the French F4 Championship with 3 events or 9 races still remaining. The next meeting will take place on 27th and 28th September at Nogaro in Gers.
Info Kartcom / © Photo KSP