Spanish F4 champion Colnaghi makes perfect start to life in Eurocup-3

Photo: Spanish Winter Championship

Reigning Spanish Formula 4 champion Mattia Colnaghi made the perfect start to life in Eurocup-3 by taking a lights-to-flag win in the opening race of the winter series at Jerez.

He was bettered by other drivers at first in qualifying, with MP Motorsport team-mates Maciej Gladysz and Alexander Abkhazava spending time on top before Palou Motorsport’s posted a 1m43.611s.

Colnaghi beat that with a 1m42.842s, but Egozi reclaimed provisional pole with his next lap. He did the same, breaking into the 1m41s, then Gladysz brought the pace down into the 1m40s.

There was still more time to be found, and Colnaghi then Campos Racing’s Jules Caranta and Nikola Tsolov held first place before Gladysz went two thirds of a second clear with a 1m39.739s that looked difficult to beat. Colnaghi was able to though, going fastest by 0.199 seconds over Egozi with a 1m39.505s.

Tsolov made it onto row two of race one’s grid alongside Gladysz, and Campos’s Kacper Sztuka beat Drivex School’s Juan Cota to fifth. A second covered the top 10, and the session was split in two by red flags due to incidents for Drivex’s Victoria Blokhina and Global Racing Service’s Cristian Cantu.

There was also pre-race drama, with Allay Racing’s Linus Hellberg being wheeled off the grid and failing to start.

Egozi made a strong enough launch to get alongside Colnaghi as they headed to turn one for the first time, and tried to pass him around the outside. Colnaghi kept his car planted, with Egozi putting two wheels off and remaining in second. The poleman weaved on his way to the hairpin to break the tow to Egozi, but he still tried a move two corners later.

They entered lap two 0.578s apart, a gap which doubled before lap three. Colnaghi was two seconds clear by lap eight as he set the fastest lap, and managed his pace thereon to win the 20-lap encounter.

Gladysz had held fastest lap one at one point, and was close behing Egozi all race long but never able to attempt a pass.

MP’s Andres Cardenas went from eighth to fifth on lap one, then on lap two he, Cota and Campos’s Jesse Carrasquedo Jr overtook Tsolov.

For nine laps Tsolov attacked Carrasquedo, usually at the hairpin, and on lap 13 he finally got back past. Carrasquedo defended the inside but then slowed at the exit before hobbling back to the pits.

Tsolov had hunted down Cota by lap 15, and he went for the outside at the hairpin and the long turn eight left-hander. He swept around the outside of him there on the next lap, then had two seconds to make up on Cardenas and ran out of time to pass him.

Cota finished the race with a train of cars behind him as he held off Caranta. Drivex’s Oscar Wurz earned a point after Campos’s Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak was handed a track limits penalty.

Race results (20 laps)