Mugello Circuit - This evening, it was time to get serious at the Mugello Circuit for the fourth round of the Italian F.4 Championship. After two free practice sessions, qualifying took place to set the grid for the three weekend races. As usual, the drivers battled it out in two 15-minute sessions, each valid for Race 1 and Race 2, while the grid for Race 3 was determined by the second-best time recorded by the drivers across both sessions. 36 drivers participated in the timed challenge, with Luka Sammalisto (R-ace GP) not starting after his crash in Free Practice 1, having to leave the circuit for further medical checks. At the end, it was Akshay Bohra, the Singaporean driver for US Racing, who secured the first pole position up for grabs; the remaining two went to Freddie Slater of Prema Racing.
In the first qualifying session, the Prema Racing drivers alternated at the top, with Freddie Slater, then Rashid Al Dhaheri, and then Slater again. Then came the burst from Akshay Bohra, who completed the best lap at 1'47.837. In second place, in the final stages of qualifying, was the Australian Jack Beeton, giving Team US Racing the entire front row for Race 1. Beeton's margin was only 0.059. Freddie Slater finished third, with a gap of 0.147, being the last to stay under the 1'48'' barrier. Next was the Japanese driver from Van Amersfoort Racing, Hiyu Yamakoshi, with a gap of 0.276, then his compatriot Kean Nakamura Berta. The Alpine Academy driver for Prema Racing lapped at 0.308. More Prema drivers were in the upper part of the standings, with Emirati Rashid Al Dhaheri in sixth place at 0.335, followed by Mercedes junior Alex Powell, seventh at 0.354. Latvian Tomass Stolcermanis secured P8 with a margin of 0.657. Completing the Top 10 were Real Racing’s Romanian driver Luca Viisoreanu, ninth at 0.665, and Jenzer Motorsport’s Dutch driver Reno Francot, just one-thousandth behind (0.666 from Bohra).
After a brief stop in the pit lane, the drivers returned to the track for another heated 15 minutes. The session became extremely exciting in the final minutes. Slater took the lead with 4'30'' left, further improving his already excellent lap in the final stages, closing the second qualifying session with the best lap recorded at 1'47.588. Several drivers went under one minute and forty-eight seconds, with Rashid Al Dhaheri being the first, thus obtaining P2 with 0.204. Bohra had another excellent session, finishing third at 0.255. Fourth place went to the Japanese Yamakoshi with 0.312. Following him was his teammate at Van Amersfoort Racing, the Swede Gustav Jonsson, with a gap of 0.354. Alex Powell secured sixth place this time at 0.385, followed by his teammates Kean Nakamura Berta and Dion Gowda, with margins of 0.478 and 0.550 seconds from the leader, respectively. The Australian Beeton qualified in P9, with a gap of 0.635, followed by Stolcermanis at 0.696.
The first block of the grid for Race 3 was thus conquered again by Slater, with the second-best lap of the second session clocked at 1'47.667. The honor went to the Swede Jonsson (+0.350), followed by Yamakoshi (+0.363), Beeton (+0.393), and Nakamura Berta (+0.478). Sixth place again for Powell (+0.517), then Al Dhaheri (+0.520), Bohra (+0.674), Gowda (+0.710), and Stolcermanis (+0.898).
Akshay Bohra: "It’s a good start to the weekend. We perfected Q1, we got everything right and made the lap. Q2 was a bit sub-optimal, but nonetheless, we are still at the front. Major thanks to the Team. The car is amazing, I couldn’t have done it without them, I’m glad that we worked hard, and now we are showing our pace. As is with racing, it’s very unpredictable what could happen, I’m just going to be as focused and as instinctive as possible, and try to maximize it."
Freddie Slater: "It was a chaotic session due to the heat. Everyone left it to the last minute, like karting. It was definitely interesting. It kept everyone on their toes. Doing two fast laps and that’s it to get the job done, it’s something that gives us a bit of practice for future years, hopefully in higher categories. It’s all good learning. The Team did an exceptional job putting the car underneath me. Today has been a busy day, but we have done well, a massive thank you to the Team. We’ll just focus on tomorrow and Sunday."
The timetable now includes Race 1 (30 minutes + 1 lap) starting at 11:20 on Saturday, July 13, followed by Race 2 (30 minutes + 1 lap) at 18:55. The final race of the weekend will be on Sunday, July 14, again lasting 30 minutes + 1 lap, starting at 11:20.
The three weekend races will be broadcast live on the YouTube and Facebook channels of the Italian F.4 Championship, on ACI Sport TV (Sky channel 228, Tivù Sat channel 52, and streaming on www.acisport.it), as well as on the extensive network of international television stations that broadcast the Italian F4 Championship 2024 races, including the DAZN platform.
The public is invited to closely follow their favorite drivers' feats and enjoy an exciting weekend of motorsport at the Mugello Circuit. Tickets to access the event are available on the Ticketone platform at the following address: https://www.ticketone.it/artist/aci-racing-weekend/