F4 in Misano

The second round of the 2023 Italian Formula 4 Championship took place in Misano last weekend. The circuit is a 4.226 kilometer track known for its fast and technical sections. After scoring points in every race on the first race weekend at Imola, PHM Racing were eager to continue this streak.  

The race weekend started on Thursday with the Collective Tests. Two sessions of two hours each. The aim of these sessions is to collect as much data as possible and to try out different set-ups for the car. Together Victoria Blokhina, Valentin Kluss, James Egozi and Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi drove 296 laps during these test sessions. Until the free practice on Friday, this data will be analysed and the best setup will be put together. 

Friday morning starts with the first free practice session, where the drivers start to get used to the car and the track before qualifying in the late afternoon. Already in the first practice session PHM Racing was able to close the gap to the front positions and in general things looked more positive than after the test sessions. 

In qualifying, the field of drivers moved super close together and only an improvement of one tenth of a second makes up several positions. In both qualifying sessions, James Egozi was the highest placed PHM Racing driver. Valentin Kluss, Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi and Victoria Blokhina all improved from practice and the points positions are not too far away.

The first of three races took place on Saturday morning. Valentin Kluss got a very good start and was able to make up several positions already in the first sector. Unfortunately, James and Nandhavud both had problems at the start and were washed back to the end of the field. Fortunately, there was a safety car only a few laps after the start, so they were able to rejoin the field. After the restart, our drivers continued their hunt for the points. Shortly before the end, Valentin found himself in 10th place in the points and had to defend hard from the driver behind him. He succeeded and after three 6th places on the first race weekend in Imola, this is the fourth points finish in a row for him.

James finished the first race just behind the points in 12th position, followed by Nandhavud in 13th position. Victoria moved up 12 positions in the race and finished the first race in 15th position. Victoria is one of 3 women in the starting field for whom there is a separate classification. In this class, Victoria finished the race as the best woman in first position.

The second race late on Saturday afternoon was unfortunately not quite as successful for PHM Racing. James Egozi finished just outside the points after a consistent drive in 12th place. Because there are only a limited number of tyres available during the race weekend, an already worn set of tyres has to be used in one race, which makes the car very difficult to drive on this demanding track. This was the case for Valentin in the second race. After a good start in which he moved up a few positions again, he then had to struggle with the already worn tyres. He gave everything and showed his defensive skills. In the end, he finished the race in 18th place, 0.3 seconds behind Nandhavud in 16th place. There was another rider between them, with whom they had a close battle until the end. Victoria also won the second race in the women's class.

The third race took place early on Sunday morning. The track is now only 22 degrees, a full 13 degrees colder than when the drivers were last on the track.  With only 2 warm up laps from the pit lane to their position in the grid, they have to get used to these conditions. 

James showed his consistency again in the third race and finished 11th, just outside the points. 

Valentin and Nandhavud both improved from their starting positions, but unfortunately remained without points in this race. 

Unfortunately, Victoria spun at the beginning of the race at the exit of the last corner and had to give up some positions. In the end, however, she won the women's category again as the best woman. 

All in all, it was a tough and exhausting race weekend for PHM Racing. The team tried everything and worked late into the evening to prepare the cars, analyse data and provide the best possible car for our drivers.  In the end, the team takes home a valuable point thanks to a 10th place finish by Valentin.

The next race weekend of the Italian Formula 4 Championship will take place from 26.05 - 28.05 at the traditional Spa - Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.