PaddockScout Roundup: EF Open Portimao, German F3 Spielberg

Euroformula Open: RP drivers share spoils as Janosz stars

Photo: Fotospeedy

RP Motorsport were the team to beat in round two of the Euroformula Open at Portimao, with Artur Janosz and Sandy Stuvik winning a race each. Stuvik led the first race until pitting with mechanical problems, handing team-mate Janosz a maiden win.

The Pole went on to finish a close second to Stuvik in race two, giving him a one-point lead in the standings over the Thai driver.

Rookie Alex Palou enjoyed another good weekend with a pair of third-place finishes to maintain his title challenge. Yu Kanamaru finished second to Janosz in race one, but finished down in 16th in race two after a second-lap incident. A fourth and a sixth from Cameron Twynham means the Briton has finished all four races so far in the top six.

German F3: Another two wins for Pommer

Photo: Alexander Trienitz/ATS F3 Cup

Markus Pommer continues to march to the German F3 title after another pair of wins at Spielberg, winning races one and three from pole position. He made the podium in race two, finishing in third place.

All three races saw a lockout of the podium places from the Motopark team. Nabil Jeffri finished all three races in second place, while rookie Indy Dontje?finished third in both of the main races and claimed his maiden victory in the reverse grid second race.

Sam MacLeod came close to Pommer in qualifying and beat him into the lead at the start of race one, but was penalised for a jump start and dropped to sixth. He then struggled to get away in race two, leaving him tenth. In race three he again challenged Pommer for the win, but was penalised this time for exceeding track limits. Santino Ferrucci, making his F3 debut after turning 16, finished fourth and sixth in the first two races but missed the third due to an engine problem.

ADAC Formel Masters: Jensen stretches lead with Spielberg double

Photo: ADAC

Mikkel Jensen extended his lead at the head of the ADAC Formel Masters standings with victories in the two main races at Spielberg. The Dane led the two opening races from pole position, and then came through to finish second in race three from eighth on the reverse grid.

Jensen’s chief rival Maximilian Gunther came into the weekend only two points adrift, but he could only finish fifth in race one, before coming a close second to Jensen in race two. Fourth in race three means he is now 27 points behind the leader.

Ralph Boschung enjoyed a strong weekend with a second-place and two thirds. Motopark team-mate Joel Eriksson joined him on the podium in race one and, after a seventh in race two, secured his maiden victory in race three. Mucke’s Marvin Dienst lost significant ground in the title race, coming sixth in race one, retiring from race two and then finishing seventh in race three. After retiring from race one, Jensen’s rookie team-mate Tim Zimmermann finished fifth in the remaining two races.

Formula Renault 2.0 Alps: De Vries puts things right at Spa

Photo: Fast Lane Promotion

Nyck de Vries bounced back from his failure to win at the previous Formula Renault 2.0 Alps round in Spielberg or the previous weekend’s Eurocup round at Spa by scoring a double victory at the Belgian track. Starting both races from pole, he won the first race which was dominated by two safety car periods. He then dominated the second race on a damp track, winning by 12 seconds. With over half of the season complete, the Dutchman has a 76-point lead.

Double Spielberg winner Matevos Isaakyan continued his strong showing by finishing both races in second place, strengthening his second place in the standings. Charles Leclerc finished up with two thirds, the latter coming after Fortec team-mate Ben Barnicoat was penalised for exceeding track limits and relegated to fourth.

George Russell and Simon Gachet slipped behind Leclerc in the standings after tough weekends. A poor qualifying left Russell finishing eighth and seventh in the two races, while Gachet failed to finish either race.

Italian F4: Three different winners for opener

Photo: ACI Sport

The first ever round of Italian F4 saw three different winners from the three races at Adria. Prema pair Lance Stroll and Brandon Maisano were the drivers to beat at the start of the weekend, with 15-year-old Ferrari protege Stroll winning race one ahead of ex-Scuderia driver Maisano. Stroll finished second in race two from tenth on the reverse grid, and came back to seventh in race three after stalling. Maisano, who at 20 is too old to score points for the championship, finished fifth and third in the later races.

Italian karting graduate Andrea Russo leads Stroll by two points after finishing all three races on the podium. He was third in the opening two races and then claimed victory in the third race.

Ukyo Sasahara was a late arrival at Euronova for the hospitalised Andrea Fontana, and the FR2.0 regular claimed victory in race two. He was fifth in race one, and ran as high as third in race three before retiring. Team-mate Leonardo Pulcini was eighth, then fourth and finished a distant second to Russo in race three.

Formula Ford GB: Two wins for Kruger, one for Scott

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Jayde Kruger claimed two wins in the Formula Ford GB round at Oulton Park. Leading the standings by three points coming into the weekend, Kruger lost out to chief rival Harrison Scott in qualifying and the subsequent first race. He came through to win the reverse grid race two after an early red flag due to rain, and then won race three from pole position.

Scott limited any damage by finishing second to Kruger in races two and three, keeping him within nine points of the leader.

Juan Rosso completed the podium in races one and three, while it was Chris Mealin who finished third in race two. Double Thruxton winner Sam Brabham was fourth in race one but then rolled out of race two when the rain hit, causing damage that could not be repaired in time for race three.

FA1: Rosenqvist returns to win both Monza races

Photo: Acceleration Events

Felix Rosenqvist returned to action in the FA1 series after two rounds away to score a double victory at Monza. On both occasions, the Swede had to come from behind. He started on pole for race one but fell back to third due to a bad start, before fighting his way back to the front to take an 11-second win. In race two he spun while running second but used his superior speed to win by 13 seconds.

Rosenqvist became the first driver to win in FA1 other than Mirko Bortolotti and Nigel Melker, who had shared the first six wins between them. Melker took two seconds at Monza, while Bortolotti had a tough weekend on home soil, finishing third in race one but then retired from race two. That has allowed Melker to edge one point ahead in the standings.

Sergio Campana led both races at home but finished them fifth and ninth. Sebastian Balthasar scored his third podium of the campaign in race two.

Star Driver: Andrea Russo

An impressive debut performance from Russo in Italian F4, running by himself at the Diegi Motorsport team. He was the closest man to the Prema pairing in qualifying, made the podium in the first two races and then drove a great race three to claim victory.

Photo: ACI Sport