Photo: Spanish F4
Hugh Barter picked up his third Spanish Formula 4 win in the third Motorland Aragon race as championship dominator Nikola Tsolov had a rare messy race.
Barter beat Campos Racing team-mate Tsolov to pole but came under immediate attack and Tsolov was able to get his car down the inside of turn one.
However the tigher turn-in meant he was slower on exit and so Barter had the momentum to swing back into the lead as they reached the next direction change
Timoteusz Kucharczyk fended off his MP Motorsport team-mate Kirill Smal for third through the opening lap before the safety car was called out as Theophile Nael had a collision at the downhil chicane, Noah Lisle spun there and then Daniel Mavlyutov and Alvargo Garcia all went into retirement.
Nael managed to make it back to the pits, where Sebastian Gravlund went too to retire, and there was even more drama when racing resumed on lap five of 12 as the safety car left it late to enter the pits.
The confusion caused bunched the field up as they went down the pit straight, and Kucharczyk passed Tsolov for second into turn one. Tsolov lost out to Kirill Smal as well, then had some side-by-side action with him before running off track and dropping to sixth behind Valerio Rinicella and Suleiman Zanfari.
He regained one spot before the end of the lap, then set fastest lap next time by. However trying to reclaim fourth from Rinicella proved extra difficult, and as he looked for a way through the top three pulled away.
Barter built up a lead of 1.4s by the end of the race, with Kucharczyk’s focus late in the race having to switch to keeping Smal at bay to secure second place.
Tsolov’s pressuring of Rinicella was eventually rewarded on the last lap, as Rinciella defended turn one but then ran over the kerbs at turn two. It allowed Tsolov to get alongside, but only briefly, and it was later around the lap that he finally got a move done and made it stick. Both locked up entering the downhill chicane, but Tsolov stayed ahead to finish fourth.
Martinius Stenshorne passed Zanfari for sixth on the penultimate lap.
Race result
| Pos | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hugh Barter | Campos Racing | 12 laps |
| 2 | Timoteusz Kucharzyck | MP Motorsport | +1.427s |
| 3 | Kirill Smal | MP Motorsport | +1.735s |
| 4 | Nikola Tsolov | Campos Racing | +3.497s |
| 5 | Valerio Rinicella | MP Motorsport | +4.576s |
| 6 | Martinius Stenshorne | Monlau Motorsport | +8.907s |
| 7 | Suleiman Zanfari | MP Motorsport | +10.195s |
| 8 | Robert de Haan | Monlau Motorsport | +10.484s |
| 9 | Ricardo Escotto | Cram Motorsport | +12.294s |
| 10 | Christian Ho | MP Motorsport | +17.739s |
| 11 | Daniel Nogales | Drivex School | +19.181s |
| 12 | Bruno del Pino | Drivex School | +19.390s |
| 13 | Vladislav Ryabov | GRS | +20.011s |
| 14 | Filip Jenic | Campos Racing | +21.470s |
| 15 | Miron Pingasov | MP Motorsport | +21.675s |
| 16 | Max Arkhangelskiy | Drivex School | +22.499s |
| 17 | Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak | MP Motorsport | +22.782s |
| 18 | Max Mayer | Formula de Campeones | +25.587s |
| 19 | Gael Julien | Drivex School | +26.284s |
| 20 | Theodor Jensen | Sainteloc Racing | +29.899s |
| Ret | Theophile Nael | Sainteloc Racing | |
| Ret | Manuel Espirito Santo | Campos Racing | |
| Ret | Jef Machiels | Monlau Motorsport | |
| Ret | Georg Kelstrip | Campos Racing | |
| Ret | Sebastian Gravlund | MP Motorsport | |
| Ret | Alvaro Garcia | Formula de Campeones | |
| Ret | Daniel Mavlyutov | GRS | |
| Ret | Noah Lisle | JHR Developments | |
| Fastest lap: Tsolov, 2m01.794s
Championship standings |
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