Frank Porte Ruiz’s apprenticeship in single-seaters continues, as does his rise to prominence in the FIA-certified French F4 Championship. The first races of the 2023 season have enabled the young Andorran hopeful to familiarise himself with his new environment, and he is now showing that he is capable of regularly competing in the top half of the field, which has no fewer than 26 cars on track this season.
In June at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium, Frank experienced a frustrating weekend, marked by some turbulence which didn’t allow him to score any points in the overall standings despite his constantly improving lap times. So he arrived in Italy with great determination. In fact, he finished an excellent 8th in the final Free Practice session before the all-important official Qualifying session.
Just 6 hundredths off the pace of the top 10, Frank Porte Ruiz scored his best Qualifying result of the season with 11th place on the grid for all three races. In the first race, after a great attack and a clear run, he increased his points tally in the Championship to 10th. Frank had to fight all the way to the chequered flag to keep his place despite the pressure from his rivals.
The FFSA Academy driver was on course to put in a similar performance in Race 2. Unfortunately, just as he was working his way back into the top 10, a duel with another driver resulted in him going off-track, which cost the Andorran driver a few places, and he ended up in 14th.
At the start of Race 3, the 17-year-old was once again unlucky to be pushed into a spin. After starting 24th and last, he put in a magnificent performance to come home 13th. Although he managed the restart perfectly after the safety car period, Frank Porte Ruiz could also have regretted the incident at the start of the race, as his competitiveness on the Misano circuit could have enabled him to get back into the top 10.
The last two rounds of the French F4 Championship will take place in September at Nîmes-Lédenon and in October at Le Castellet on the prestigious Paul Ricard circuit.
Info Kartcom / Photo © KSP – Guillaume Veuve