Dane Lasse Sorensen did what he had to do in race 3 clinching another win and the 2014 French F4 Championship title. Hard-charging Australian Joseph Mawson, very much at home on the Jerez circuit, finished second, and Frenchman Valentin Moineault got back among the front-runners with a brilliant third place.
On the front row for the last race of the weekend in the World Series by Renault meeting on the Jerez circuit were Joseph Mawson and Lasse Sorensen followed by Mexican Patricio O’Ward and Frenchman Valentin Moineault with another Frenchman Dorian Boccolacci and the winner of race 2, Swiss-Albanian Gjergj Haxhiu, on row 3. Erwan Julé injured himself in the second heat and withdrew.
When the lights went out the 21 trainee drivers shot away from the grid in scorching hot weather conditions. Mawson took the lead and pulled away from Sorensen who had to fight off O’Ward and Moineault. In the mid field battle raged between Swiss Paul Hokfelt Jr, Anglo-Swiss Félix Hirsiger and French drivers Bryan Elpitiya, Amaury Richard and Valentin Hasse Clot.
Second time round Moineault launched an attack on O’Ward who did his best to hang on to third place, but the Mexican had to give way on the following lap. On the same lap Gjergj Haxhiu overtook Swiss David Droux and went into seventh spot. Fourth time round Mawson was trying all he knew to pull away from Sorensen who kept up the pressure and closed the gap to the leader. Moineault was all alone in third while O’Ward, Boccolacci and Niclas Nylund were at it hammer and tongs for fourth position. Hugo Sugnot Darniche went off and had to retire.
As the race entered its second half Mawson and Sorensen were running wheel to wheel followed by Moineault who was hoping to take advantage of any slip-up by the two leaders. A few laps from the end Sorensen found an opening and shot past Mawson to take the lead in the race. Further back Vladimir Atoev snatched 13th place from Valentin Hasse Clot and on the next lap the Russian driver also overtook Félix Hirsiger.
In the closing laps Niclas Nylund’s attacks on Boccolacci paid off and the Finn went into fifth place.
Hokfelt Jr and Elpitiya moved up the time sheets and were in ninth and tenth places after getting past Russian Denis Bulatov. Elpitiya continued his fightback and slipped past Hokfelt Jr to take eighth spot.
The last lap proved fatal to Boccolacci who had to retire after a collision with another car. Nylund got the better of Haxhiu in the final corners. Elpitiya fought his way up to seventh after starting from 15th place.
Behind the leading trio the next seven places were filled by Nylund, O’Ward, Haxhiu, Elpitiya, Hokfelt Jr, Atoev and Droux.
This weekend Sorensen wrapped up the 2014 French F4 Championship title followed by Boccolacci who did enough to retake second place in the overall classification. Hirsiger fell back to third in front of Mawson and Bulatov.
The last round of the 2014 French F4 Championship will be held on the Paul Ricard circuit on 24-26 October in the context of the final of the GT Tour.
Info Auto Sport Academy / © Photo KSP