The 2024 Euro 4 Championship at Mugello Circuit starts in the name of Akshay Bohra. The Indian driver, born in New York, claimed all three pole positions during the morning qualifying session and didn't waste time capitalizing on his advantage in Race 1. After a perfect start, Bohra held the lead throughout the race, managing his Pirelli tires on the hot Tuscan track (with track temperatures of 47°C and air temperatures of 33°C). Only Japan’s Hiyu Yamakoshi, a Van Amersfoort Racing driver who started from the front row, could keep up with the winner. From the start, Yamakoshi maintained his position, occasionally closing the gap, but never enough to attempt a move. At the checkered flag, the Japanese driver was just under 0.7 seconds behind. Completing the podium was another Van Amersfoort Racing driver, Gustav Jonsson. The Swedish driver also held his qualifying position despite a slight mistake in the opening laps, which saw him briefly run wide into the gravel. Exceptionally skillful on this occasion, the driver managed to keep the car stable and continue the race without losing positions.
In fourth place and claiming the Rookie class win was Japanese Alpine Academy driver Kean Nakamura-Berta from Prema Racing. Nakamura-Berta was also involved in the battle for the podium, closing in dangerously on P3 but unable to make the move. In fifth place was British driver Freddie Slater, followed by his Prema Racing teammate Dion Gowda. The Indian driver also set the fastest lap, 1'49.635 on the third lap. Finishing seventh was the Emirati driver Rashid Al Dhaheri, also from Prema Racing, who was involved in the fight for the top positions in the early stages of the race. Crossing the line in eighth was German US Racing driver Maxim Rehm, making him the second-best Rookie in Race 1. Ninth place went to Mercedes junior Alex Powell from Prema Racing, taking the third spot on the Rookie podium. The final point was claimed by Swiss Jenzer Motorsport driver Ethan Ischer.
Gianmarco Pradel (US Racing) and Tomass Stolcermanis (Prema Racing) were involved in a incident during the hard battle into the points paying positions. Post-race, Stolcermanis received a penalty that will drop him two grid positions for the next race, due to the incident.
Also Australian driver Jack Beeton (US Racing), Singaporean Alpine Academy driver Kabir Anurag (US Racing), and Dutch driver Lin Hodenius (Van Amersfoort Racing) were also forced to pit-in and retire during the first race.
Racing continues tomorrow with the thrilling conclusion of the first of three rounds in the Euro 4 Championship. The schedule for Sunday, August 25th at Mugello Circuit will see Race 2 will taking place at 8:50, while Race 3, the grand finale of the weekend, will begin at 16:00. Each race will last 30 minutes plus one lap.
Fans can follow the action live on the Euro 4 Championship’s YouTube and Facebook channels, as well as on ACI Sport TV (Sky channel 228, Tivù Sat channel 52, and streaming on www.acisport.it). Additionally, coverage will extend to a wide network of international broadcasters, including the DAZN platform, ensuring global visibility for a championship that is increasingly prominent in the world of junior racing.
Akshay Bohra: “I can’t ask for more. Triple pole, and then taking a win in the first race. I think it was a perfect day, I just have to give a massive thanks to the team, it wasn’t possible without them. I didn’t feel like I was under a lot of pressure, the whole race I was just kind of managing the tires. I was trying to push enough, but not too much, and I think I managed pretty well. He was closer a few moments, but I never lost my cool. Ideally there is no one behind you, but you have to expect someone to be behind you. At this track especially it’s a bit hard to follow, so if they are a bit close, it’s fine as long as they can’t make the move. It’s a very simple strategy, probably it won’t be easy to do this for all the races, but it’s definitely possible, I just got to keep it simple and do exactly what I did now.”
Hiyu Yamakoshi: “Bohra and I were pushing every lap. It was a tough race, but it was also a lot of fun. Getting P2 is a nice way to start the Euro 4 Championship. Our driving style and pace were quite similar, but I made a mistake. Our gap was very narrow in Sector 2, but I made a big mistake, which is why I couldn’t catch Bohra.”
Gustav Jonsson: “it feels quite good. It was quite a tough start in the Italian F.4 Championship, so it feels good now to switch series and bring back some good points. I struggled quite a lot in the race to be honest, with oversteering and with the rear tires. I had quite a big moment in T7 in the beginning of the race, but we managed to keep it on track, and then was just trying to keep the rear tires alive, and we managed to do so. It’s nice to come home with the podium. The experience coming from that race [Italian F.4 at Mugello in mid July] it’s obviously quite a lot. We know about how to manage the tires in the races and also in qualifying. We knew we were strong here before we even came, but it’s good to bring back the result that we need.”
Kean Nakamura-Berta: “compared to the Italian F4, we’ve regained some pace. Overall, the weekend has been really positive. I’m a bit disappointed with myself; I think the podium was there to grab. I had one lap chance, where I could have gone for it. I hoped I would have the pace toward the end, but the tires were gone, and we struggled a lot with pace. I think we just need to work a bit, tweak the car setup, and make it a little better for tomorrow’s races. We’re starting P6 and P4, so we still have a chance tomorrow. P4 in the end is still a good result, but I think I could have done a bit better. Tomorrow is a new day, I’ll stay focused and keep working to grab more points.”