Mugello - Qualifying for the second round of the E4 Championship at Mugello Circuit delivered both spectacle and confirmation. On one of the most technical and selective tracks of the season, Kean Nakamura-Berta with Prema Racing was the absolute star, taking two pole positions. Fighting for the top spot and securing pole for Race 3 was Mercedes junior Alex Powell with R-ace GP, who had already impressed on this track in July during the Italian F.4 Championship, and once again shows his strong feeling with the Scarperia circuit.
A total of 34 drivers took part in qualifying, defining the three starting grids for the weekend.
In the first session, Powell was among the first to set a strong lap time, trading fastest laps by thousandths of a second with Maksimilian Popov of Van Amersfoort Racing. Then it was the Japanese-Slovak driver Nakamura-Berta who took the lead, ending on top with 1:48.978. Powell finished second, just 0.192 seconds behind. Third place went to Dante Vinci of Van Amersfoort Racing, the best rookie of the session at 0.224, followed by teammate Popov at 0.260. Fifth fastest was Dutch driver Reno Francot with PHM Racing at 0.378. Sixth was Salim Hanna with Prema Racing at 0.427, ahead of Latvian Tomass Stolcermanis with AKM Motorsport at 0.436. Eighth was Chinese driver Zhenrui Chi with Prema Racing at 0.560, while championship leader Gabriel Gomez with US Racing had to settle for ninth at 0.579. Rounding out the top ten was Williams Driver Academy member Oleksandr Bondarev at 0.604.
The second session once again saw a head-to-head battle at the top. After a short stop in the pitlane, Nakamura-Berta returned to the track and, with a lap of 1:48.424, secured another pole, beating Powell by just 0.099s. Third was Reno Francot at 0.317, followed by Salim Hanna at 0.458. Fifth place went to Sebastian Wheldon with Prema Racing and Andretti Global, who delivered a solid run at 0.551. Behind him was Dante Vinci at 0.609, then Gabriel Gomez at 0.728. Ninth and tenth went to the US Racing pair, Kabir Anurag with the Alpine Academy program at 0.816 and Andrija Kostic at 0.828, followed by Maksimilian Popov of Van Amersfoort Racing at 0.907.
The grid for Race 3, determined by the second-best lap set by each driver across the two sessions, will see Alex Powell start from pole, thanks to a 1:48.732. At 0.115s will line up alongside him, Nakamura-Berta, followed by Sebastian Wheldon at 0.282 and Reno Francot at 0.292. Fifth will be Salim Hanna at 0.366, then Dante Vinci at 0.399. Seventh again will be Gabriel Gomez at 0.462, ahead of Maksimilian Popov at 0.589. Ninth will be French driver Andrea Charles Dupe with Prema Racing at 0.665, while Andrija Kostic closes the top ten at 0.795.
Excitement also builds for the women’s trophy, with five drivers on the grid. On track will be Emily Cotty with R-ace GP, Payton Westcott with Van Amersfoort Racing, Ginevra Panzeri with AKM Motorsport, and the AS Motorsport duo of Aurelia Nobels and Mathilda Paatz, who also competes with her family’s Mathilda Racing team. After today’s qualifying, it will be Paatz starting ahead of her rivals in Race 1, while in the remaining two races, the advantage will go to Westcott.
Kean Nakamura-Berta: “It was a redemption compared to the last time we were here for the Italian Championship. On that occasion, we lost the fastest lap because of track limits. Today I left a bit of margin to be safer! The car felt really good, a big thanks to Prema. Let’s see what the races bring. Starting from pole here is quite a useful advantage. I feel pretty confident, the race pace in testing was really good. It’s a good way to start the weekend.”
Alex Powell: “It’s great to be back on top this weekend. We were here two months ago, and it was a fantastic weekend, almost like a dream. This one is starting in a similar way. I can only thank the team so much, because it’s the result of all their hard work and effort. This morning in free practice, we had some issues, but I’m happy we turned it around and started the weekend on a good note. Our car works really well here, we know that, so it’s just about capitalizing on that and executing well. I’m happy that we did that today. Of course, we still have three races ahead, but I’m really motivated and I want to do something special for the team.”
The program continues tomorrow, Saturday, September 13, with Race 1 at 10:25 AM and Race 2 at 4:40 PM, while Race 3 is scheduled for Sunday, September 14, at 10:40 AM. All races will last 30 minutes plus one lap and will be broadcast live on ACI Sport TV and the international network of broadcasters covering the championship worldwide, as well as via live streaming on the social channels of ACI Sport and the E4 Championship.