Photo: ESET V4 Cup
Ethan Ischer made it three Formula 4 Central European Zone wins out of three at Autodrom Most, as Jenzer Motorsport completed a second podium clean sweep of the weekend.
Ischer made a perfect start in dry conditions to take an immediate lead, building a two-second gap on lap one. The Swiss driver gradually extended his lead to take a commanding win by 7.2s at the chequered flag.
With grid positions determined by drivers’ second-best times in qualifying, Ischer’s Jenzer team-mate Reno Francot lined up alongside him on the front row, with the third Jenzer car of Mathias Bjerre Jakobsen lining up third.
It was Jakobsen who made the best getaway from the second row, drawing alongside Francot on the run down to the first chicane, before passing around the outside of the initial right-hander to take second.
Francot shadowed his team-mate for the opening laps, although was clearly trying hard to find a way through, locking a wheel under braking for turn one on lap 10.
Two laps later, Jakobsen made a small mistake at the final corner, allowing Francot to draw level past the pits, before taking the position before the first turn.
Jakobsen had no response, but Francot’s deficit to Ischer was already far too great, forcing the Dutchman to settle for second, and thus to maintain his championship lead.
Michael Sauter was another to lose a position at the start as SAPE Motorsport’s Miroslav Mikes jumped up to fourth from the third row. However, within a lap Sauter was back in front and, although the intra-Jenzer duel ahead allowed him to close on Francot, he was never in a position to attack the front three.
Mikes took fifth ahead of JMT Racing’s Jan Rieger and a distant Max Karhan in the fourth Jenzer entry.
Gender Racing’s Oliver Michl was forced to pit to change a broken front wing, finishing a lap down on the rest of the field.
Results
Race 3 (16 laps)
1 Ethan Ischer Jenzer Motorsport 25m06.727s
2 Reno Francot Jenzer Motorsport +7.161s
3 Mathias Bjerre Jakobsen Jenzer Motorsport +11.411s
4 Michael Sauter Sauter Engineering+Design +12.661s
5 Miroslav Mikes SAPE Motorsport +26.800s
6 Jan Rieger JMT Racing +27.271s
7 Max Karhan Jenzer Motorsport +43.185s
8 Oliver Michl Gender Racing Team +1 lap
Fastest lap: Ischer, 1m33.220s
Championship standings
1 Francot 170 2 Ischer 158 3 Sauter 113 4 Jakobsen 84 5 Michl 76 6 Mikes 53 7 Egozi 50 8 Taylor 43 9 Safranek 30 10 Rieger 26