The fourth race of the F4 CEZ championship during the Racing Journal SpeedFest weekend at Autodrom Most became a domain for Czech racers. Miroslav Mikeš won the first sprint, and Max Karhan took victory in the third. The only interruption to the home drivers‘ success was Kirill Kutskov, who won the second race.
Although the overall standings are led by Oscar Wurz from Jenzer Motorsport and Kirill Kutskov from Maffi Racing holds second place, it was expected that Mikeš and Karhan would challenge the F4 CEZ leaders. After all, Most is their home circuit, which they know very well, and both had achieved their first podium finishes at the previous event in Slovakia. Mikeš finished second at Slovakia Ring, while Karhan won there for the first time.
The qualifying battle already indicated the dominance of the two Czech favourites. Mikeš from the Czech team JMT Racing secured pole position with an eight-tenths lead over Karhan, followed by Wurz and Kutskov. Their joy was mixed with nerves, though. Would they maintain their positions after the start? Would they avoid trouble in the tricky chicane?
In the end, everything went well, and Mikeš, along with teammates Karhan – Wurz, and Kutskov, finished in the same positions they had started. However, the race was far from drama-free. On the contrary, the difference at the finish in the TOP3 was a mere 0.858 – reflecting how tight and intense the race was.
Spectators got their deserved share of motorsport in the second race, which took place on a wet track and was just as thrilling as the first. The order frequently changed until Wurz lost control of his Formula 4 during braking and collided with Mikeš. The Austrian retired, while home driver Mikeš continued to finish second behind Kutskov. Although Karhan crossed the chequered flag in fourth place, the stewards noticed that he was relegated to fourth by debutant Phillipe Armand Karras during a yellow flag period – thus, Karras received a five-second penalty and dropped to fourth place.
In the final third race, Kutskov led. Wurz unsuccessfully searched for a gap to overtake, while Karhan and Mikeš closed in on him. Towards the end, Karhan showed his Jenzer Motorsport colleague how to overtake at Most. He passed Wurz, swiftly overtook Kutskov, and began to pull away from his pursuers towards his second victory of the season.
Karhan and Mikeš had a points haul at Most. Karhan finished third, second, and first. Mikeš finished fifth, second, and first. Both are now within reach of the current second-placed Kutskov, and the next race will again be on a home circuit – Automotodrom Brno.
However, the F4 CEZ championship is not only about this quartet. The Hungarian team Gender Racing entered with debuting brothers Phillipe Armand Karras and Jean-Paul Karras, and especially Phillipe performed excellently, challenging the leading quartet.
The Czech team F4 CEZ Academy Klub made its debut in the championship with Marek Mičík and Michelle Jandová. She was one of three young women on the field. The others were Michalina Sabaj from AS Motorsport and Kornelia Olkucka from Maffi Racing.
The Racing Journal SpeedFest offered another beautiful showcase of the upcoming drivers generation. With two events remaining in the season, totalling six races, the scales could tip in any direction in the final phase.
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