Italian Formula 4

Three Australians joined a super competitive field in the Italian F4 Championship season opener, and all secured points at the iconic Imola circuit.
 
Returning Ferrari Driver Academy driver James Wharton was joined by debutants Jack Beeton and Gianmarco Pradel in Italy over the weekend and all drivers had at least one finish inside the top 10.
 
Wharton ended the round the highest on the standings claiming a fifth place in race two, along with fastest lap honours.
  
Unfortunately, he was deprived of a top 10 finish in the round’s first race after crashing with Matteo De Palo on the penultimate lap, before a P12 wrapped up his weekend.


 
Similarly, Pradel was unable to finish his first race of the weekend but claimed a solid P11 in his second outing before his best performance in the final race saw him climb from P20 to ninth.
 
As for Beeton, he was highly consistent in the opening two races after starting from 15th in each, gaining two positions in his first and five spots in his second to finish 10th . The Queenslander then crossed the line in 12th in his final race, with a penalty moving him further down the order.
 
The trio will be back in action next month with the Misano World Circuit to host the second round on 5-6 May.


 

British Formula 4

Like the Italian Formula 4 Championship, the three contesting Aussies all left the opening round of the 2023 season with points, however there was one standout.
 
In his second season within the championship, Noah Lisle ended the round in second place having secured a victory and a runner-up finish, while first-year drivers Patrick Heuzenroeder and James Piszcyk managed a points finish each.
 
With the season opener held at Donington Park, it was Lisle who dominated early with pole positions in both qualifying sessions, however he lost race one to teammate Louis Sharp.
 
Both drivers started from the back of the grid in race two, and while Sharp managed to storm to the win, Lisle could only make it as high as P17.
 
The Australian bounced back in the next outing as he enjoyed a lights to flag victory in the round’s final race, along with the fastest lap in wet conditions.
 
In that same race, Heuzenroeder got his best finish of the weekend after an impressive performance saw him start P13 and make up seven positions, before a penalty saw him ultimately finish in seventh.
 
Earlier in the weekend, Heuzenroeder picked up 14th in the opening race and ninth in the second race, while Piszcyk’s best result came in the opener with an impressive P10 before a 14th and 18th wrapped up his weekend.
 
The trio will be back for round two next month as they tackle Brands Hatch on 5-6 May.


 

GT World Challenge Europe

Another three Aussies were in GT World Challenge Europe, including Alex Peroni and Calan Williams who began a new chapter in their careers as they debuted in the GT World Challenge Europe Championship at Monza, and Ricky Capo.
  
Williams was the one who enjoyed a better weekend though as he picked up a Gold Cup podium alongside Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer and Niklas Krütten in the Team WRT BMW M4 GT3, while Capo also got on the Silver Cup podium alongside Italian Fabrizio Crestani and Brit Sam Neary.
 
It was a disappointing start to the year for Peroni and his teammates Patrick Assenheimer and Florian Scholze in the GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 though as they qualified in 51st but crashed out on the opening lap.
 
Williams and his team on the other hand were in fine form as they finished the race in 12th outright out of 55 cars and 3rd in the Gold Cup class.
 
The West Australian was strong in all stints, which included guiding the car to seventh outright and first in class during his allocated qualifying session, which ended up 15th outright and second in class.
 
Unfortunately, the team ended up losing a place by just one second during the 77-lap race, but still comfortably secured the class podium.


Capo was also key in qualifying as the 27-year-old helped his team put the GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO 2 on pole for the class.

Like the Williams' Team WRT BMW M4 GT3, Capo and his teammates were unable to hold onto their position, but still picked up third in the Silver Cup and 27th overall.
 
The GT World Challenge Europe returns in June with the Circuit Paul Ricard 1000km in France on 3-4 June.


 

European Le Mans

James Allen had a challenging start to the European Le Mans season despite finishing the 4 Hours of Barcelona in eighth place.
 
Driving with Alex Lynn and Kyffin Simpson in the Algarve Pro Racing Oreca 07, the trio had a good start to the weekend as they qualified on the front row in second place thanks to the efforts of Allen.
 
Unfortunately, the race didn’t pan out as they would have hoped as they finished fifth in the Pro class and eighth overall – more than a lap off the leader after their battle with the pole sitting Oreca 07 of Cool Racing went wrong.
 
The next round of the series will be the 4 Hours of Le Castellet at Circuit Paul Ricard on 16 July.

Le Mans Cup

Three Aussies were in action for the Le Mans Cup in Barcelona with Fraser Ross and George Nakas sharing the Graff Racing Ligier JS P320 and Andres Latorre Canon in the Inter Europol Competition Ligier JS P320 with Canadian Daniel Ali.
 
The two crews had contrasting results in the series’ opening round of the season as Ross and Nakas charged through the field, while Latorre Canon unfortunately dropped down the order when it came to the race.
 
In Qualifying, it was Latorre Canon who finished higher with 26th out of a field of 42 as Ross and Nakas qualified seven places lower.
 
Ross and Nakas would power through the field during the 54-lap race though, making up an impressive 21 positions to just miss out on top 10 finish by 10 seconds.
 
As for Latorre Canon and Ali, they ended up 32nd overall and three laps off the leader after having issues throughout the race.
 
The Le Mans Cup continues with the Road to Le Mans event at the famous French circuit on 8-9 June.