It’s not the first time Hugh Barter has taken the top spot on the grid in the French F4 Championship, but this time the Australian driver has secured a double pole position, which means 1st place on the grid for both Race 1 and Race 3.
The Championship leader is continuing to shine at Magny-Cours, where he took several podiums in 2021 and a victory in the last race, which enabled him to finish runner-up in the French F4 Championship. This third round of the season is therefore off to an ideal start for Barter, who has pushed his closest rival back to within 3 tenths. Disappointed to have seen his best times cancelled in the first part of the Qualifying session for having exceeded the limits of the track, the Swiss driver Dario Cabanelas recovered perfectly afterwards to set a remarkable 2nd fastest time a few minutes later.
Elliott Vayron took the provisional pole position for a short period, before the drivers returned to the pits following a red flag. Barter and Cabanelas then managed to get ahead of him, but Elliott saved 3rd place despite the numerous other improvements. Belgian driver Lorens Lecertua progressed to 4th place ahead of Japanese Souta Arao and Alessandro Giusti, these three drivers being grouped together in less than a tenth! This shows the quality of preparation of the Mygale single-seaters by the FFSA Academy staff…
Colombian Jeronino Berrio confirmed his progress by finishing in 7th place ahead of Louis Pelet, who was in the top 10 for the first time in practice, and Japanese driver Yuto Nomura. Pierre-Alexandre Provost completed the top 10, which will allow him to start P1 in Race 2 according to the reverse grid principle. He beat Edgar Pierre by only 29 hundredths and Enzo Geraci by 33!
The grid for Race 3, defined by each driver’s second fastest lap in Qualifying, will be slightly different, with Barter on pole ahead of Vayron, Arao, Giusti, Cabanelas and Lecertua.
Info FFSA Academy / Photo © KSP – Guillaume Veuve