Barter fends off Tsolov to win Spanish F4 race one at Aragon

Photo: Spanish F4

Campos Racing’s Hugh Barter fended off team-mate and championship leader Nikola Tsolov to claim victory in Spanish Formula 4’s first race at Motorland Aragon.

A good getaway allowed Barter to take the lead off the line from his pole-sitting team-mate. Meanwhile, MP Motorsport’s Timoteusz Kucharczyk dropped from third to 15th as he was unable to get going when the lights went out.

It was an eventful opening lap in the middle of the pack. Global Racing Service’s Vladislav Ryabov was hit from behind and spun round, and Drivex Schools’s Max Arkhangelskiy lost his front wing as he hit the car in front trying to avoid Ryabov. MP’s Manuel Espirito Santo ended up in the wall at the chicane heading into the back straight, while his team-mates Christian Ho, Suleiman Zanfari and Valerio Rinicella all came into the pits and retired at the end of the lap.

The race progressed and Tsolov, who had stayed within a second of Barter, started to put pressure on the Australian for the lead. Unfortunately, the safety car was then brought out to clear the car of GRS’s debutant Daniel Mavlyutov, who had flipped over twice following contact with with MP’s Miron Pingasov after an off and had stopped on track.

The race resumed with just seconds on the clock, which meant there would be two more laps. A slow restart from Tsolov gave MP’s Kirill Smal a chance to go for a move into the inside of turn one. However, Tsolov would hold on, and quickly close the gap to Barter again, coming close to overtaking him in the last corner.

Monlau Motorsport’s Robert de Haan finished fourth, just ahead of the recovering Kucharczyk who climbed up the field with strong pace after his initial setback. De Haan’s debuting team-mate Martinius Stenshorne was sixth, followed by Campos’ George Kelstrup, Sainteloc Racing’s first-time scorer Theophile Nael, Cram Motorsport’s Ricardo Escotto and new Drivex signing Daniel Nogales.

Race result