Sainteloc Racing’s Theophile Nael and MP Motorsport racer Valerio Rinicella enjoyed success in the Spanish F4 Championship’s three races at the NAPA Racing Weekend at Circuito de Navarra (24/25 June).

It was Rinicella who set the initial pace during the weekend’s first competitive sessions at the circuit in northern Spain. Rinicella was just 0.030s faster than Nael over one lap, at the head of a top-four separated by just one tenth of a second with Noah Stromsted just behind.

Despite Rinicella having the edge in qualifying, it was Nael who made the best getaway to lead as the field streamed towards turn one for the first time. The leading duo then spent the opening stages of the race just under a second a part, whilst Stromsted circulated a little further back in third.

The safety car was summoned on the sixth lap of 17 following an incident involving Maxi Restrepo, who came to a halt, but full pace racing resumed on lap 10 with Nael once again maintaining his slender margin over Rinicella. The leading duo remained in that order to the chequered flag, with Nael crossing the line just 0.840s ahead.

Stromsted completed the race one podium ahead of Christian Ho, with Pedro Clerot completing the top-five. Clerot had led the standings into the Circuito de Navarra weekend, but he ceded his position at the top of the order to Nael as the race ended.

In race two, it was Nael’s turn to start from the front after grid positions were set by second fastest times during the opening qualifying session. This time the driver on pole got away best and was able to hold onto the lead to record a comfortable victory.

It was a relatively regulation success for Nael, who quickly built a lead of close to one and a half seconds from fellow front row starter Enzo Deligny and maintained it to the finish. There was little movement between the leading runners throughout the race distance, with Deligny splitting Nael from race one rival Rinicella throughout.

Behind Rinicella, Christian Ho completed a strong drive to fourth, narrowly missing out on the podium for a second straight race in succession, whilst Keanu Al Azhari moved into the top-five for the first time all weekend as the leading runners finished in the same order they started.

Clerot recovered to sixth from ninth as he fought to limit the damage after losing his series lead to Nael following the opening race.

The grid for race three was set by a second qualifying session on Sunday morning, and it was Rinicella once again who set the pace over one lap in a tight session where the top-10 was separated by just half a second around the 2.4-mile circuit.

This time Rinicella made no mistake from the front row, taking the lead from the fast starting Nael who moved into second from fourth. Nael quickly made his move for the lead, but Rinicella resisted, opening the door for Deligny to attempt a pass for second. Amidst all the drama however, it was Stromsted who managed to pass them both and move into P2 on the road.

Deligny’s race came to a halt when his car stopped on track, leaving Stromsted and Nael to fight it out for the bottom two steps on the podium as Rinicella finally made the most of his evident pace to claim a victory. Al Azhari claimed fourth place after another strong drive, whilst Clerot claimed his second fifth position of the weekend to hold onto second in the standings.

Spanish F4, Circuito de Navarra, Race 1

1. Theophile Nael, Sainteloc Racing
2. Valerio Rinicella, MP Motorsport, +0.840s
3. Noah Stromsted, Campos Racing, +3.359s
4. Christian Ho, Campos Racing, +7.027s
5. Pedro Clerot, MP Motorsport, +9.549s
6. Keanu Al Azhari, MP Motorsport, +9.946s
7. Jeronimo Berrio, MP Motorsport, +10.716s
8. Alex Ninovic, Carlin, +12.570s
9. Pablo Sarrazin, Monalu Motorsport, +14.033s
10. Alvise Rodella, MP Motorsport, +16.394s

Spanish F4, Circuito de Navarra, Race 2

1. Theophile Nael, Sainteloc Racing
2. Enzo Deligny, Campos Racing, +1.430s
3. Valerio Rinicella, MP Motorsport, +2.591s
4. Christian Ho, Campos Racing, +5.169s
5. Keanu Al Azhari, MP Motorsport, +8.381s
6. Pedro Clerot, MP Motorsport, +11.991s
7. Alex Ninovic, Rodin Carlin, +14.050s
8. Noah Stromsted, Campos Racing, +14.364s
9. Ricardo Gracia, Monlau Motorsport, +14.927s
10. Andres Cardenas, Campos Racing, +15.329s

Spanish F4, Circuito de Navarra, Race 3

1. Valerio Rinicella, MP Motorsport
2. Noah Stromsted, Campos Racing, +1.514s
3. Theophile Nael, Sainteloc Racing, +2.814s
4. Keanu Al Azhari, MP Motorsport, +3.608s
5. Pedro Clerot, MP Motorsport, +6.151s
6. Matteo de Palo, Campos Racing, +6.926s
7. Andres Cardenas, Campos Racing, +7.199s
8. Alex Ninovic, Rodin Carlin, +9.715s
9. Alvise Rodella, MP Motorsport, +10.562s
10. Ricardo Gracia, Monlau Motorsport, +11.583s

For more information about the Spanish F4 Championship, click here.