Niko Kari (FIN) claimed the next podium finish for Volkswagen customer team Motopark Racing at round four of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in Spielberg (A). Only Lance Stroll (CDN) and George Russell (GB) finished ahead of the Finnish driver in the second of three races. Kari’s second podium of the season earned him valuable points in the battle to end the year as the number one rookie. He is currently fifth in this competition with 125 points.
Team-mate Joel Eriksson (S) is even better placed in the race for the junior title. The young Swede picked up 30 points over the course of the weekend and is currently second overall in the rookie standings. The weekend at the Red Bull Ring was overshadowed by a serious crash in the opening race, which involved two drivers from the Carlin Volkswagen customer team, Zhi Cong Li (CDN) and Ryan Tveter (USA). Both drivers were taken to a nearby hospital and the race was subsequently abandoned. Victory went to Callum Ilot (GB). Sunday’s final race was once again won by Stroll, who also leads the championship. The best-placed driver for a Volkswagen customer team is Eriksson (76) in seventh. One place and two points behind Eriksson is Sérgio Sette Câmara (BRA, Motopark), who finished twelfth, eighth and fourth in Austria.
TCR Benelux
Impressive debut from Belgian duo De Leval/Van der Poele
The Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR narrowly missed out on a place on the podium more than once at the opening round of the TCR Benelux series in Spa, Belgium. Belgian duo Romain de Leval/Alexis Van de Poele of Volkswagen customer team Delahaye finished fourth in three of the four races. In doing so, they scored valuable points towards the overall standings. After the first race weekend of the season, the two Belgians are third in the championship with 66 points and lead the junior class. Kevin Balthazar/Fred Bouvy (B/B) of Volkswagen customer team Milo Racing also impressed. They finished fifth in two races and sixth in one. This puts them seventh overall with 28 points. The championship leaders after the opening round are Stéphane Lemeret/Tiago Monteiro (B/P) in their Honda Civic, who won race one. The remaining victories at the former Formula One circuit went to brothers Edouard and Guillaume Mondron (B) in a SEAT Leon, and Renaud Kuppens (B), who won races three and four in a Honda Civic.
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