Pierre-Louis Chovet wins and the title battle hots up!
On the Paul Ricard circuit Pierre-Louis Chovet, who was in third place on the grid, made a good start and scored his maiden victory in F4 after his debut at Magny-Cours and his 2017 French Junior Kart title. Behind him Jean-Baptiste Mela drove a good race to clinch second, while Arthur Rougier made a return to the front-runners with third place.
Race 2 for the drivers in the French F4 Championship began in the late morning. While there were no incidents at the start things soon livened up. Jean-Baptiste Mela on the front row quickly pulled away, but Chovet went pedal to the metal, caught him and snatched the lead. The youngster from Menton used his first two meetings to learn the ropes, and now seems more and more at home at the wheel of his F4.
Mela drove a good race and the early gap he opened up helped him to finish on the second step of the podium. Rougier in ninth place on the grid took advantage of the battles raging in the top 10 to fight his way to a top-3 finish thanks to some spectacular overtaking moves as well as setting the fastest lap in the race. In the closing stages the driver from Limoges pulled in Mela, but was never in a position to attack him. Pierre-Alexandre Jean finished in a well-deserved fourth place, which he defended tooth and nail. Victor Martins drove a solid race upping the pace in the closing and kept his title hopes alive with fifth place thanks to which he is still neck and neck with Rougier in the championship.
There was action throughout the race in the top 10 with many position changes, which provided a great spectacle for the spectators at the Paul Ricard circuit. Florian Venturi and Ugo de Wilde had every reason to be happy as their skills behind the wheel netted them sixth and seventh places respectively. Charles Milesi was unable to hold on to fourth as the gaps were tiny and he finally saw the flag in eighth spot. Hugo Chevalier gained one place in relation to his position on the grid after his win yesterday. Thomas Drouet rounded out the top 10.
Marvin Klein clinched 11th position thanks to his consistency closely followed by Christian Muñoz. Stuart White’s run of misfortune continued and the young South African could do no better than 13th. Amaury Cordeel and Noah Watt were locked in battle in the midfield pack, but neither saw the chequered flag.
Timetable of the meeting – Paul Ricard
Sunday 15th October 2017
17:20 Race 3
Classification of race 2 – French F4 Championship at Le Castellet
Pierre-Louis Chovet
Jean-Baptiste Mela
Arthur Rougier
Pierre-Alexandre Jean
Victor Martins
Florian Venturi
Ugo De Wilde
Charles Milesi
Hugo Chevalier
Thomas Drouet
Marvin Klein
Christian Muñoz
Stuart White
Amaury Cordeel
Noah Watt
Fastest lap in the race: Arthur Rougier