The Thai driver won the classification reserved for rookie drivers. Rivera, Egozi, Cárdenas, Przyrowski, and Tye also secured points-scoring positions
The fifth round of the 2024 F4 Spain season concluded at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Cheste this past weekend, with Campos Racing and Griffin Core by Campos drivers delivering an outstanding performance overall. Notably, all of them managed to enter point-scoring positions at some point, with the standout performance coming from Enzo Tarnvanichkul, who, after his first podium finish at Motorland Aragón, repeated with a third-place finish this weekend. Ernesto Rivera, James Egozi, and Andrés Cárdenas also scored valuable championship points, as did Nathan Tye and Jan Przyrowski.
After two free practice sessions on Saturday morning, the first qualifying session took place at midday. In this session, Tarnvanichkul set a time of 1m33.037s, which earned him sixth place, while Polish driver Przyrowski was twelfth on the timesheet with his time of 1m33.253s. Mexican driver Rivera was 14th with his lap of 1m33.333s, three thousandths ahead of Cárdenas. Tye and Egozi were 21st and 22nd respectively, with laps of 1m33.608s and 1m33.624s.
In the afternoon, in the first race of 30 minutes plus one lap, Tarnvanichkul made a great start when the lights went out, moving up to fourth after the first few corners and third by the end of the first lap. Przyrowski was running fifth in the early stages, while Rivera and Cárdenas had also moved into the top ten. However, the safety car was deployed due to an incident that took two drivers out of the race. A couple of laps later, the green flags were waved again. The field gradually stretched out, with Tarnvanichkul consolidating his third place. Przyrowski, however, had to retire after eight laps, leaving Cárdenas and Rivera in sixth and seventh place midway through the race. After 19 laps, Tarnvanichkul crossed the finish line in third place, also being the best rookie, while Cárdenas and Rivera finished sixth and seventh. Tye's comeback saw him finish in tenth place, just ahead of Egozi.
Sunday began with the second qualifying session, in which Egozi emerged as the best of the Campos Racing drivers. The American set the fifth-fastest time with his lap of 1m32.871s, two places ahead of Przyrowski, who was seventh with his time of 1m32.931s in his Griffin Core by Campos car. Cárdenas rounded out the top ten with his lap of 1m33.080s, while Tye was 14th and Tarnvanichkul could only manage 17th place on this occasion. Rivera was 19th on the timesheet.
The second race, scheduled for 25 minutes plus one lap, had an electrifying start with Rivera and Tarnvanichkul completing the first lap in seventh and eighth place. Further back, Cárdenas and Egozi were tenth and twelfth. As the laps went by, the Campos Racing and Griffin Core by Campos drivers managed to gain a few more positions, and after 16 laps, Rivera crossed the finish line in fifth place, just ahead of Tarnvanichkul and Cárdenas. Egozi secured tenth place at the checkered flag. Tye and Przyrowski had less luck, finishing 22nd and 27th respectively.
In the third and final race, lasting 30 minutes and held in the afternoon, Egozi remained in the leading group throughout. However, due to the difficulty of overtaking at the Cheste circuit and the usual tight competition, the American could not improve on his starting position and finished in sixth place. After 21 laps, Egozi crossed the finish line in sixth place, with Przyrowski closing the points-scoring positions in tenth place. The Polish driver was followed by his teammate Cárdenas. Tarnvanichkul finished in 13th place. Tye finished 19th, ahead of Rivera.
After fifteen races, Rivera is fourth with 108 points. Egozi is eighth with 91 points, while Przyrowski holds tenth place with 64 points. Tye and Tarnvanichkul are eleventh and twelfth with 58 and 50 points, respectively. Cárdenas, after scoring points in both races, moves up to 15th place with 23 points.
The next round will take place in three weeks, on October 5th and 6th, at the Circuito de Jerez.
Photos: FotoCar13
