Home News Kari dominates SMP F4 qualifying at Sochi

Kari dominates SMP F4 qualifying at Sochi

by Valentin Khorounzhiy
Photo: SMP F4 Championship

Photo: SMP F4 Championship

SMP F4 frontrunner Niko Kari reigned supreme in the qualifying session at Sochi to claim pole position for the first and second races of the weekend.

The Finn was imperious, assuming the lead for good at halfway point and setting four different laps good enough for race one pole position.

Alexey Korneev was best of the rest in second, with Nikita Troitskiy coming up a tenth short with a late flying lap.

It proved a very close fight for fourth behind them, with four drivers separated by less than two hundredths of a second.

In the end, fourth went to Italian F4 graduate Ivan Matveev, who edged MSA F4’s Enaam Ahmed, Vladimir Atoev and Nerses Isaakyan.

Points leader Aleksanteri Huovinen was just eighth, leading two of his compatriots – Simo Laaksonen and Niclas Nylund, both of French F4 fame.

For race three, with Kari once again heading the order, Troitskiy will line up alongside, with Atoev and Korneev on row two.

Matveev and Ahmed will make up row three, ahead of Isaakyan, Huovinen, Laaksonen and Nylund.

Qualifying results
Race 1 starting order Race 3 starting order
Pos. Driver Time Pos. Driver Time
1 Niko Kari 2:11.203 1 Niko Kari 2:11.552
2 Alexey Korneev 2:11.700 2 Nikita Troitskiy 2:11.927
3 Nikita Troitskiy 2:11.792 3 Vladimir Atoev 2:12.021
4 Ivan Matveev 2:11.981 4 Alexey Korneev 2:12.092
5 Enaam Ahmed 2:11.986 5 Ivan Matveev 2:12.108
6 Vladimir Atoev 2:11.995 6 Enaam Ahmed 2:12.131
7 Nerses Isaakyan 2:11.998 7 Nerses Isaakyan 2:12.288
8 Aleksanteri Huovinen 2:12.168 8 Aleksanteri Huovinen 2:12.375
9 Simo Laaksonen 2:12.191 9 Simo Laaksonen 2:12.485
10 Niclas Nylund 2:12.487 10 Niclas Nylund 2:12.803
11 Nikita Sitnikov 2:12.568 11 Nikita Sitnikov 2:12.896
12 Denis Mavlanov 2:12.770 12 Aleksander Maslennikov 2:13.036
13 Aleksander Maslennikov 2:12.881 13 Semen Evstigneev 2:13.177
14 Semen Evstigneev 2:13.008 14 Artem Kabakov 2:13.503
15 Artem Kabakov 2:13.354 15 Denis Mavlanov 2:13.756