Photo: KSP Reportages
French karting graduate Sami Meguetounif notched up his first two pole positions in car racing in French Formula 4 qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps.
Honda junior Ren Sato was quickest of all on the first flying laps in the 20-minute qualifying session at the Belgian circuit, with Valentino Catalano provisionally in second and just 0.082 seconds behind.
Richard Mille Young Talent Academy winner Rafael Villagomez then went quickest next time around, with Meguetounif a marginal 0.035s slower.
Villagomez failed to improve on his next lap though, dropping him to sixth as title-leading Honda junior Ayumu Isawa went to the top and Meguetounif improved in second.
Meguetounif found a few more tenths in pace to better Iwasa for pole, and they remained one-two through the final five minutes of qualifying despite neither driver improving on their best laptime.
Sato went third fastest, half a second behind, while a track limits violation cost free practice pacesetter Marijn Kremers his best lap and fourth place on the grid, meaning Villagomez will fill the second row of the grid for race one.
Each driver’s second-best laptime was used to set the grid for race three, with Meguetounif and Iwasa filling the top two spots again. Catalo earned third place, albeit a second slower than Meguetounif, after Kremers was cost a spot again by a track limits violation.
Isack Hadjar, currently the closest rival to the Honda juniors in the title race, was absent from qualifying. He did contest free practice though, and was sixth quickest.
Qualifying round-up
Race 1 grid
1 Sami Meguetounif 2m24.817s
2 Ayumu Iwasa +0.253s
3 Ren Sato +0.567s
4 Rafael Villagomez +0.992s
5 Marijn Kremers +1.019s
6 Valentino Catalano +1.050s
7 Romain Leroux +1.223s
8 Loris Cabirou +1.224s
9 Owen Tangavelou +1.514s
10 Lev Lomko +1.964s
Race 3 grid
1 Meugetounif 2m24.933s
2 Iwasa +0.139s
3 Catalano +1.035s
4 Kremers +1.046s
5 Villagomez +1.080s
6 Sato +1.199s
7 Cabirou +1.282s
8 Leroux +1.435s
9 Tangavelou +1.646s
10 Lomko +1.858s