Under the scorching sun of the Mugello Circuit (53°C track temperature, 31°C air temperature), the drivers of the Italian F.4 Championship took to the track again for the second free practice session.
At the end of the scheduled 40 minutes, it was the surprising Japanese driver from Van Amersfoort Racing, Hiyu Yamakoshi, who emerged at the top of the session, setting the best time so far. Yamakoshi, recording the best lap at 1'47.985, was the only driver to go under one minute and 48 seconds. Still near the top of the session was the Australian Jack Beeton. The US Racing driver, who had set the fastest time this morning, had another excellent session, finishing just 0.062 seconds behind. Third was Freddie Slater, the British driver from Prema Racing, trailing by 0.085 seconds. Slater, the Championship leader after the first three rounds, once again showed he is among the fastest in the unique conditions of the Mugello Circuit, ahead of tonight’s double qualifying session.
Fourth place went to Prema's Alpine Academy driver Kean Nakamura Berta, the fastest among the Rookie drivers, with a gap of 0.190 seconds from the leader. With a tightly packed group at the front, the gaps slightly widened for the remaining drivers in the top 10.
In P5 was Singapore's Akshay Bohra, representing US Racing, with a gap of 0.406 seconds. He was followed by Prema’s Emirati driver Rashid Al Dhaheri, who lapped 0.458 seconds behind Yamakoshi. Another Prema driver, Mercedes junior Alex Powell, was behind him, 0.587 seconds off the leader's pace. Eighth position went to the Swedish driver Gustav Jonsson of Van Amersfoort Racing, with a gap of 0.609 seconds. Closing the top 10 were two young talents from the Vicenza-based Prema Team: Indian driver Dion Gowda, 0.757 seconds behind, and Latvian driver Tomass Stolcermanis, 0.795 seconds behind.
Now begins the wait for the main event of the day: this evening, Friday, July 12, starting at 17:20, the 37 drivers of the Italian F.4 Championship will take to the track again for a double qualifying session. The total track time of 30 minutes will be crucial for the rest of the weekend. The first 15-minute session (17:20-17:35) will decide the grid for Race 1, while the second session (17:45-18:00) will set the grid for Race 2. The grid for Race 3 will be determined by the second-best time achieved by the drivers across the two sessions.
The schedule then includes Race 1 (30 minutes + 1 lap) starting at 11:20 on Saturday, July 13, followed by Race 2 (30 minutes + 1 lap) at 18:55. The final race of the weekend will be on Sunday, July 14, also 30 minutes + 1 lap, starting at 11:20.
The three races of the weekend will be broadcast live on the YouTube and Facebook channels of the Italian F.4 Championship, on ACI Sport TV (Sky channel 228, Tivù Sat channel 52, and streaming on www.acisport.it), as well as on the extensive network of international TV channels that broadcast the races of the Italian F4 Championship 2024, including the DAZN platform.
The public is invited to closely follow their favorite drivers and enjoy an exciting motorsport weekend at the Mugello Circuit. Tickets for the event are available on the Ticketone platform at the following address: https://www.ticketone.it/artist/aci-racing-weekend/