Barter completes Magny-Cours double to extend French F4 lead

Photo: FFSA / KSP Reportages

Hugh Barter took a second lights-to-flag French Formula 4 win at Magny-Cours in race three of the weekend to pull away in the championship.

Nearest rival Souta Arao stalled from third on the grid at the start and was clipped by Pierre-Alexandre Provost, ending both their races and causing a safety car.

The other Red Bull and Honda junior Yuto Nomura had his race effectively ended before it could even restart. Having already lost places on the first lap, he was hit from behind under the safety car by Pablo Sarrazin, visibly damaging his rear wing. This led him to spin in the Lycee chicane when the race did restart, before he pulled off to retire.

Further ahead, second-placed Elliott Vayron got off line in the same chicane on the restart, allowing Alessandro Giusti to get ahead but Vayron reclaimed the place on the exit of the Adelaide hairpin.

Their ongoing battle enabled Barter to escape to win by 4.4 seconds.

Lorens Lecertua was running fourth until he went off track at the start of the lap with five minutes remaining, which dropped him outside the top 10.

That helped Colombian driver Jeronimo Berrio to continue his impressive form with a fourth place finish. Edgar Pierre enjoyed his best race to-date and took fifth after pressuring Dario Cabanelas into a mistake in Lycee with two minutes to go.

Enzo Peugeot once more raced well to go from 13th to seventh ahead of Romain Andriolo, Louis Pelet and Lecertua.

Race result