Noel León and Bryce Aron are separated by just 17 points at the top of the standings as Euroformula Open heads into its summer break. Both Motopark drivers firmly lead the way in points-scoring at the midway point of the season, with a total of five wins combined between the pair. With an internal battle brewing at Motopark, here’s Feeder Series’ recap of their title fight thus far.

By Juan Arroyo

As the grid completed their final days of pre-season testing in Portimão, León and Aron found themselves neck-and-neck in the first qualifying session of the year, with a mere five-thousandths of a second separating them in fourth and fifth positions. Enzo Trulli and Tim Tramnitz secured the front row of the grid for their only weekend in the championship, with BVM Racing’s Francesco Simonazzi right behind them.

León quickly earned himself a podium to kick off the season, following a battle for second during the opening laps of Race 1 which Aron wasn’t able to involve himself in. The Mexican driver was the one to beat behind the dominant forces of Trulli and Tramnitz, who left León to pick up the victory when the leading pair collided in the latter stages of Race 3.

On the other hand, Aron, despite starting on the front row twice, couldn’t break into the podium positions. León and Aron left Algarve with 53 points and 34 points respectively.

León and Aron take maiden victories in Spa

With the Pau Grand Prix round cancelled, the drivers took to Spa-Francorchamps instead, where León again found himself with a pace advantage over Aron in the free practice sessions. The Mexican driver converted this into pole position, before securing his maiden victory of the season. Aron had qualified fifth, but moved up to secure his first podium in the series in third.

The second race in Belgium would be the first time both title contenders met on-track. By virtue of Euroformula Open’s reverse grid rule, which reverses the top six finishers of Race 1 to set the grid for Race 2, Aron and León started fourth and sixth, respectively.

Both drivers made quick work of those ahead; by the halfway point, Aron and León led the pack from Simonazzi. The American driver was forced to defend from multiple overtaking attempts towards the end of the Kemmel Straight, as his gap to León remained under a second. In the final corner of the last lap, the chasing León tried a last-gasp move for the lead at the Bus Stop chicane but locked up in doing so, allowing Aron to claim his own maiden victory in the series.

Motopark continues their dominance

Motopark’s reign continued in Race 3, but it was Cian Shields who secured victory ahead of Simonazzi and León. Despite starting on the front row, Aron lost multiple positions into Les Combes on lap three and had fallen to fifth by the chequered flag.

Meanwhile, León’s five podiums in six races, meant he held a 22-point lead over second-placed Simonazzi in the standings. Aron and Shields followed 31 points and 40 points behind, respectively.

The Mexican driver’s form continued into the Hungaroring round, where he repeated his previous feat of converting pole position into a race victory along with the fastest lap to open the weekend. Shields followed in P2 in both sessions, while Aron finished sixth. Whilst this was the American’s lowest result of the year, it was one that enabled him to start Race 2 on pole position.

Aron claimed victory and the fastest lap of the race, sharing the podium with Joshua Mason and Juju Noda. The race proved challenging for Aron’s usual rivals, most of whom had consistently stood on the podium in every race since the Portimão round. On the other hand, León bounced back in the final race of the weekend, finishing third and earning two additional points for gaining the most positions over the 17 laps. Aron, Simonazzi, and Shields followed closely behind.

Over the course of the weekend, León was the only one among the four drivers to achieve two podium finishes, thus extending his championship lead to over 40 points ahead of Aron. Although Aron’s win in Race 2 improved his standing, León’s consistent top-three finishes remained unmatched by the rest of the grid.

Aron closes in on the championship lead

Heading into Round 4 at Le Castellet, León demonstrated his dominance in free practice. His pace earned him a third consecutive pole position. However, early in Race 1, a turning point occurred when León’s rear-left tire collided with Simonazzi’s front-right tire in the run-up to turn 3. The impact caused León to spin into the wall, forcing him out of the race. Simonazzi’s car suffered suspension damage, leading to his retirement shortly after the incident.

Juju Noda was left to pick up the pieces and claim her maiden victory in the series, while Aron followed back in third – a favorable result for the American driver on all levels. He then went on to win Race 2, while León finished a lowly seventh out of the eight drivers competing.

Despite León’s recovery to a second place in the final race of the weekend, his previous championship lead was slashed to just 17 points. While Cian Shields found the biggest gains over the weekend – with a podium in Race 2 and a win in Race 3 – he remains 37 points behind points leader León.

Consistency key in the title battle

After three race wins, three pole positions, and five podiums, León’s season can be called one of redemption after being dropped from the Red Bull Junior Team at the end of last year. But despite his continued run of form, the Le Castellet round illustrated how quickly leads can vanish in this year’s historically small Euroformula Open grid.

Regardless, the title battle seems almost locked out by Motopark, with a top three made from León, Aron, and Shields who combine for eight wins out of 12 total races thus far. BVM Racing’s Francesco Simonazzi remains a distant challenger, however, with a win and four podiums to his name. The Italian driver has 154 points to his name, 47 points behind León at the top.

As podiums remain more within reach to drivers in the small grid, any major mistake on-track is paid for heavily in the standings. With four rounds down and four more to go, the title battle especially hinges on consistency now. For the established Motopark, their drivers’ challenge lies in preserving the success they have achieved thus far in 2023.

Header photo credit: Euroformula Open