Photo: Copa Natiauto
Helio Meza won twice in the second round of the NACAM Formula 4 season at Autodromo Miguel E. Abed.
The Alessandros Racing driver started his weekend on top by going quickest in qualifying, leading team-mates Jose Carlos Hernandez, Alejandro Bobadilla and Jose Martinez, in car #17.
The top three held their positions in race one, although Hernandez did try to pass Meza at turn one. Meza closed the door, and did not let Hernandez get close again.
Alex Bobadilla then filled Hernandez’s attention, with the pair fighting hard and avoiding contact. This battle helped Meza break away up front, and eventually Hernandez won the dispute for second place.
Hernandez struck back in race two, although initially Bobadilla looked set to win as he jumped from third to first at the start. Slotting into second was Hernandez, as Meza dropped to fourth.
Battles ensued, and on lap three Hernandez passed Bobadilla at the end of the pit straight to take the lead. Bobadilla then had to defend against Ram Racing’s Zaky Ibrahim and Meza.
It took a few laps for Meza to overtake Ibrahim, and he later cleared Bobadilla too but ran out of time to threaten Hernandez’s victory.
Bobadilla defended hard against Ibrahim to hold on to third, but then the position was secured anyway when Ibrahim spun.
Meza was victorious in race three, and shared the podium with Hernandez and Bobadilla. A stronger start than in the previous races helped put him in the lead. Hernandez did not push hard while chasing, staying tidy before setting the fastest lap.
Bobadilla’s third place came under pressure from Jose Martinez, but late on he managed to pull away from him.
Results round-up
Race 1 (18 laps)
1 Helio Meza Alessandros Racing 29m27.340s
2 Jose Carlos Hernandez Alessandros Racing +3.790s
3 Zaki Ibrahim Ram Racing +44.837s
4 Horia-Traian Chirigut Santinel Racing +1m07.600s
5 Alan Zezatti Ram Racing +1m28.700s
6 Alex Bobadilla Alessandros Racing +1 lap
7 Alex Franco RRK Motorsports +1 lap
8 Jose Martinez Alessandros Racing +2 laps
9 Maximiliano Mora Ram Racing +2 laps
Pole: Meza, 1m32.248s
Fastest lap: Meza, 1m31.869s
Race 2 (18 laps)
1 Hernandez 28m21.132s
2 Meza +1.252s
3 Bobadilla +18.947s
4 Mora +46.134s
5 Ibrahim +59.857s
6 Zezatti +1m12.705s
7 Franco +1m37.211s
8 Martinez +1 lap
9 Chirigut +6 laps
FL: Meza, 1m31.935s
Race 3 (18 laps)
1 Meza 27m53.902s
2 Hernandez +2.009s
3 Bobadilla +23.366s
4 Martinez +30.620s
5 Ibrahim +41.095s
6 Zezatti +56.016s
7 Chirigut +1m32.480s
8 Franco +1m34.260s
9 Mora +1 lap
P: Meza, 1m32.398s
FL: Hernandez, 1m32.014s
Championship standings
1 Hernandez 111 2 Meza 101 3 Ibrahim 68 4 Bobadilla 48 5 Martinez 40 6 Zezatti 33 7 Mora 30 8 Chirigut 26 9 Franco 26 10 Cantu 12