Beckmann sweeps to maiden victory in race two at Vallelunga

Photo: ACI Sport

German racer David Beckmann took his and team Mucke Motorsport’s first win in the Italian F4 championship with a commanding drive in the second race at Vallelunga.

The 15-year-old, who drove his first car race yesterday, started second behind Israeli Bar Baruch but managed to get into the lead off the line. He was never headed thereafter, winning by nearly seven seconds.

Beckmann managed to quickly open up a gap to Baruch, who spent the rest of the race fending off pressure from Lucas Mauron, as both drivers went on to claim their first podium finishes in Italian F4.

But the order was ever-changing behind the leading trio. First, Jenzer’s Marcos Siebert and Mauricio Baiz of Vincenzo Sospiri Racing were involved in a high-speed crash on lap one, with both cars hitting the gravel.

Then Siebert’s teammate Nico Rindlisbacher tried a move on Ferrari junior Guanyu Zhou early in the race, but ended up damaging his front wing and had to visit the pits.

Mucke’s Robert Shwartzman took advantage of this and passed the Zhou for seventh. On the same lap, Kevin Kanayet stormed past Marino Sato for fourth, with Antonelli’s Joao Vieira getting past as well.

Shwartzman soon overtook Sato for sixth, and two laps later, was up into fifth after outbraking Kanayet, who had lost out to Vieira on the previous lap. The Russian’s charge was halted by the Brazilian, who held on for?fourth at the chequered flag.

Shwartzman had to be content with fifth, ahead of Kanayet and Sato. Behind them, Zhou managed to nurse his car to eighth at the flag, just ahead of a charging Alex Peroni.

Mucke’s last-minute signing Thomas Preining snatched tenth on the last lap off race one winner Ralf Aron, who recovered after a terrible start that saw him down in 18th on lap one.

Ferrari junior Zhou will start the final race of the weekend from pole.

Race results