2017 F4 SMP NEZ Championship – Hat Trick for Lundgaard

Brilliant Drive Rewards Lundgaard with Third Win of 2017

If Saturday was twisty and turbulent, Sunday was much easier for the teams and drivers. There were no significant incidents during the day as the drivers finished off the third round of the season of the SMP F4 NEZ Championship certified by FIA in Ahvenisto.

Qualifying 2

After what would have been his first pole position was taken away yesterday, Christian Lundgaard started Sunday in dominant fashion by taking the maiden pole for his team, MP Motorsport. Juuso Puhakka got closest to the Danish MP Motorsport driver and lost out on pole by 0.227 seconds. Tuomas Haapalainen set the third fastest lap, meaning that the top three was exactly the same as the initial top three in Saturday’s qualifying before the penalties.

Championship leader Lloveras took P4 and Alexander Smolyar lined up beside him. Race 2-winner Nikita Volegov managed to put his SMP Racing car in P6 ahead of yesterday’s pole sitter Sami-Matti Trogen. Race 1 winner Bent Viscaal could only get to P8 after his best lap time was deleted for ignoring the yellow flags. Vladimir Tziortzis and Elias Niskanen made up the fifth row for Race 3.

Sander Dorsman, MP Motorsport Team Manager: “Lundgaard did a good job; it is always difficult on this track to manage the traffic and all the other circumstances. It feels a bit like revenge after yesterday and he really deserves his first pole position.”

Christian Lundgaard, MP Motorsport: “I knew from Saturday that I had the pace to get the pole position. It feels really good after yesterday’s disappointment and now I just have to make the most of my starting position.”

Qualifying 2 Results

1. Christian Lundgaard 1:13.731

Juuso Puhakka +0.227
Tuomas Haapalainen +0.446
Xavier Lloveras +0.511
Alexander Smolyar +0.559
Nikita Volegov +0.638
Sami-Matti Trogen +0.726
Bent Viscaal +0.749
Vladimir Tziortzis +0.775
Elias Niskanen +0.903
Michael Belov +0.907
Lukas Dunner +1.159
Jan-Erik Meikup +1.216
Sten Piirimagi +1.245
Ivan Berets +1.368
Guillem Pujeu +1.506
Gulhuseyn Abdullayev +2.025
Roman Lebedev +2.157
John Peters +2.158

Race 3

Unfortunately John Peters wasn’t able to take part in Race 3 due to his car being too damaged after his crash in Q2, which meant there were 18 drivers on the grid.

Christian Lundgaard showed his talent in the race as he cruised to a lights-to-flag third win of the season. The Dane survived an early scare as Puhakka almost overtook him at the start but had to settle for P2.r

Lloveras ended his difficult weekend in P3 after Smolyar put him under pressure in the late stages of the race. Haapalainen finished P5 and just behind him was Volegov in P6. After finishing on the podium for the first time of his career on Saturday, Trogen came home in a lonely P7.

Viscaal’s weekend ended with P8 but it was behind him where the real battle for the positions raged during the final race of the weekend. Michael Belov, Tziortzis, Niskanen, Jan-Erik Meikup, Lukas Dunner, Sten Piirimagi and Ivan Berets all fought for a place in the top ten and there were some amazing side by side moments, especially by Tziortzis and Niskanen. Eventually, Belov and Tziortzis entered top 10.

With his win, Lundgaard now leads the championship by just two points to Lloveras as the pair continue to fight for the title. Smolyar sits in third place 21 points behind the Dane.

After three back-to-back races the teams and drivers now get a well deserved rest. The 2017 SMP F4 NEZ season continues on 1st-2nd July in Parnu, Estonia. See you there!