Without ever lifting off Bryan Elpitiya led the second race from start to finish and scored a relatively easy victory from Anglo-Swiss Félix Hirsiger, and the hard-charging Australian Joseph Mawson who fought his way up through the field to clinch a place on the third step of the podium.
It was a sunny afternoon on the Le Mans Bugatti circuit even though threatening clouds hung around the track. The 23 trainee drivers prepared to do battle on a dry track as they waited for the lights to go out to start the second race of the weekend. Bryan Elpitiya, on pole thanks to the reversed grid, took advantage of his position to make a great start. He came out of the Dunlop chicane in the lead closely followed by Swede Reuben Kressner and Anglo-Swiss Félix Hirsiger.
The first lap of the second heat was marked by Valentin Moineault’s spectacular shunt. Thankfully he got out unhurt but his participation in the third race is seriously compromised. In the meantime battle raged mid-field and there were several overtaking moves. Up front Hirsiger was just behind Kressner and tried to snatch second place from the Swede. Joseph Mawson from Australia and Frenchman Amaury Richard were also pushing hard, watched by Erwan Jule ready to pounce on the slightest mistake by his rivals.
Dorian Boccolacci and Dane Lasse Sorensen, who had had an entertaining scrap in race 1, were again battling in the mid-field without being able to get past their direct rivals.
Despite several warning from Race Control for not respecting track limits Erwan Julé and Richard both had to pass by the pit lane to serve drive-through penalties. After these hectic incidents the drivers seemed to have settled down in the closing laps of the second heat. Elpitiya began to pull away and controlled Hirsiger’s final charge as Félix went pedal to the metal. With two laps to go Swiss driver Paul Hokfelt Jr had to cope with the stunning comeback of the winner of the first race, Mawson, who was determined to score his second top-3 finish of the day. Boccolacci managed to extract himself from the mid-field scrap and fought his way up to fifth in front of Valentin Hasse-Clot in no. 7 who finished sixth with Kressner seventh. Finn Simo Laaksonen saw the flag in eighth place followed by two Russian drivers Vladimir Atoev and Denis Bulatov in ninth and tenth.
Thus, Elpitiya scored a well-deserved dominant maiden victory in the 2014 French F4 Championship in the second race from Hirsiger and Mawson who overtook Hokfelt Jr on the last lap. Félix Hirsiger, who set the quickest time in qualifying, will be on pole for race 3, and he will share the front row with his main rival this weekend, Joseph Mawson.
Bryan Elpitiya: “As I had decided beforehand I pushed very hard in the first seven laps to try and open up a gap, which I managed to do. I’m really delighted to have won.”
Race 3: Sunday 27th April at 11h00
Info Auto Sport Academy / © Photo KSP