The sole junior single-seater activity this weekend was in French F4, which held its traditional Easter weekend season opener at Nogaro. Feeder Series reviews the action.

By Feeder Series

A record 32 cars took to the track on a weekend that always features a shifted schedule. French F4’s first round is part of the Coupes de Pâques event at Nogaro, which begins on Friday and concludes on Easter Monday. A returning favourite took victory in the opening race before two rookies triumphed in the second and third contests. Keep reading to find out how things transpired.

This weekend also marked the opening round of Super Formula, Japan’s premier racing series, with several junior single-seater graduates taking part. F2 convert Luke Browning fared the best, rising from 21st to fourth for Kondō Racing in the second race, with Super Formula Lights champion Yuto Nomura and former Invicta Racing F2 driver Roman Staněk also collecting points in race one. Charlie Wurz, who raced for Trident in F3 last year, and Rikuto Kobayashi, who finished third in Super Formula Lights, did not score.

There is no Race Recap podcast this week, but have you seen our latest show with GB3 driver Aurelia Nobels? It’s not too late to check it out if you missed it. Get caught up here.

1. French F4: Bouzar takes the lead as rookies take their maiden win

French F4: Bouzar takes the lead as rookies take their maiden win

Guillaume Bouzar took an early lead after French F4’s opening round at Nogaro with a victory in the first race and a podium in the third.

Thibaut Ramaekers was the fastest driver across the six testing sessions, but it was a surprise to see the reigning world karting champion bring out the first red flag in qualifying. Returning driver Bouzar took a commanding double pole with the best overall and second-best times. Rookie Matthéo Dauvergne was second overall, while Tom Dussol was the closest driver to Bouzar on second-best qualifying times, putting him second for race three.

Unfortunately, Dauvergne pitted at the end of the formation lap because of a mechanical failure. This left Bouzar all alone on the front row, and he was alone and untroubled thereafter en route to a dominant win.

On lap two, Dussol, running third, was spun by Ramaekers at the Roger Dubos curve, bringing out the race’s only safety car. The Belgian kept the pressure on Hugo Herrouin for second but could not get past. He eventually received a 20-second penalty for the collision with Dussol, stripping him of his maiden podium and handing third to Kota Tsuchihashi.

In the reverse-grid race on Sunday afternoon, Tsuchihashi stopped at the end of the first formation lap. After a second formation lap, Yuval Rosen kept the lead over Lewis Francis and Lilian Soares. 

The first safety car appearance was caused by Jules Avril, who stopped in the gravel at Caupenne on lap three. Jack Iliffe and Jimmy Hélias then tangled at the restart, bringing out the second safety car.

Race one’s frontrunners, meanwhile, fought for the lower points positions. On lap nine, Bouzar made a move around Dussol’s outside at the Henri Oreiller curve, but the Corsican insisted on the inside. Their subsequent collision took both of them out. 

The third safety car restart came with three minutes remaining, and Rosen lost positions to Francis at the École hairpin and Soares soon after. Before he could regain them, the race was neutralised again after a large accident between Héloïse Goldberg and Autumn Fisher, who rolled into the gravel at Roger Dubos.

Though she did not score, Lisa Billard finished eighth, the best result for a female driver since French F4 earned FIA certification in 2018.

For the final race on Monday, Bouzar started in front of Ramaekers and Dauvergne as Dussol was demoted to 12th for his crash with Bouzar the day before. Ramaekers had a better start than Bouzar, but the French-Luxembourgish driver squeezed the Belgian onto the grass, allowing Dauvergne through.

There were two safety car deployments in the race’s first half, first for Sofia Zanfari’s stopped car on lap one and then for a spin for Jade Jacquet, who had been running 15th, on lap six. Out front, the leaders were untroubled, Dauvergne staying close to Bouzar without attacking him. In the race’s second half, Oscar Goudchaux was the only driver in the points-paying positions to gain a position, passing Herrouin for fifth place on lap 10.

Bouzar’s opening lap came back to haunt him, however. He received a five-second post-race penalty for pushing Ramaekers, dropping him to third behind the Belgian and new winner Dauvergne. Still, he leaves Nogaro with 43 points in hand, 13 over Herrouin and 15 over Dauvergne.

Report by Perceval Wolff-Taffus

Results	P1	P2	P3
Qualifying	Guillaume Bouzar, 1:26.098	Matthéo Dauvergne, +0.076s	Hugo Herrouin, +0.239s
Qualifying (2nd fastest lap)	Guillaume Bouzar,1:26.130	Tom Dussol, +0.298	Thibaut Ramaekers, +0.327
Race 1 (19 laps)	Guillaume Bouzar, 30:48.335	Hugo Herrouin, +2.725s	Kota Tsuchihashi, +3.177s
Race 2 (15 laps)	Lewis Francis, 30:38.055	Lilian Soares, +0.930s	Yuval Rosen, +2.999s
Race 3 (17 laps)	Matthéo Dauvergne, 30:00.698	Thibaut Ramaekers, +3.278s	Guillaume Bouzar, +4.325s

Standings	Drivers
P1	Guillaume Bouzar, 43
P2	Hugo Herrouin, 30
P3	Matthéo Dauvergne, 28
P4	Kota Tsuchihashi, 27
P5	Oscar Goudchaux, 27
P6	Lewis Francis, 24
P7	Lilian Soares, 22
P8	Thibaut Ramaekers, 21
P9	Yuval Rosen, 13
P10	Jimmy Hélias, 6

Header photo credit: FFSA Academy