Pro Motorsport's Marcello Puglisi took his first Formula Master victory of the season yesterday in a thrilling street race, which saw the Italian spin out on track as the race was red-flagged following a huge downpour in Pau, France.
The 22-year-old led from start to finish, despite two safety car periods which prevented him from building up any lead from second placed-man Kasper Andersen. With rain beginning to fall heavily on lap 23, Puglisi spun out towards the ever-present barriers, along with several other cars, just as the race was suspended due to the weather.
Despite a strong start, Trident Racing's Andersen was unable to pass Puglisi throughout the 35-minute race and kept his second place starting position for the duration.
Team-mate Alejandro Nüñez clinched third place, ahead of Cram Competition's Arturo Llobell in fourth, after overtaking him following the race's second safety car period.
Iris Project's Michael Ammermüller maintained his fifth place grid position throughout the 25-lap race, surviving contact with Llobell and a close battle with sixth-place finisher and Cram Competition driver Pablo Sanchez Lopez.
Austrian Norbert Siedler was also one of the drivers spinning out in the rain in today's exciting race ending, finishing seventh for ADM Motorsport, after surviving a three-way fight with JD Motorsport team-mates Sergey Afanasiev and Vladimir Arabdzhiev on lap one.
Euronova Racing's Fabrizio Crestani claimed eighth place, managing to successfully defend his position against Drivers Classification leader Chris van der Drift (JD Motorsport) for the majority of the 23-lap race.
Trident Racing claimed best team-mates for today's race with Andersen's second place and Nüñez's third place finish. This afternoon's podium also earned Nüñez 'best rookie of the day', making him the fourth best rookie in as many races.
According to article 20 of the Formula Master sporting regulations, 75% of the original race distance must be completed by the leader for full points to be awarded. Since only 23 laps were completed in today's race, half points will be awarded.
Van der Drift now leads the Drivers Classification by three points from Michael Ammermüller, whilst eight different nationalities are represented amongst the top eight drivers.
Marcello Puglisi, Pro Motorsport "I'm very happy with the win. I managed to get a quick start from pole. I think Kasper might have got a better start than me but I had the best line. At the end, when it started raining, I made a mistake; I was very lucky that they decided to stop the race!
"Having to lead the restart after each safety car was a big problem. You never know when to get on the power to keep a space between you and second place but it worked out for me in the end.
"Now we head to Brno. We have a lot of work to do in testing before then, but I think my team can do a lot to the car and we can do even better there."
Kasper Andersen, Trident Racing "It's very nice to be on the podium here today, as I had two crashes in Pau last year! I thought I almost had Puglisi at the start, but it was hard to see him. After that, I tried to race without fighting so that we could get away from the rest of the group."
Alejandro Nüñez, Trident Racing "At the restart, I kept close to Arturo Llobell but the track was so tight. It was very close but in the end I managed to pass him. I'm very happy as it's my first podium; the team did a fantastic job."
Formula Master - Pau Round four provisional results1. Marcello Puglisi (ITA), Pro Motorsport (#9) 2. Kasper Andersen (DEN), Trident Racing (#32) 3. Alejandro Núñez (ESP), Trident Racing (#33) 4. Arturo Llobell (ESP), Cram Competition (#1) 5. Michael Ammermüller (GER), Iris Project (#27) 6. Pablo Sanchez Lopez (MEX), Cram Competition (#2) 7. Norbert Siedler (AUT), ADM Motorsport (#17) 8. Fabrizio Crestani (ITA), Euronova Racing (#14) 9. Chris van der Drift (NED), JD Motorsport (#6) 10. Josef Kral (CZH), Team JVA (#29) 11. Luca Persiani (ITA), Scuderia Famà (#25) 12. Matei Mihaescu (ROM), Jenzer Motorsport (#24) 13. Harald Schlegelmilch (LAT), Trident Racing (#31) 14. Michele Caliendo (ITA), ADM Motorsport (#22) 15. Frankie Provenzano (ITA), ADM Motorsport (#21) 16. Daniel Mancinelli (ITA), Euronova Racing (#46) 17. Carlos Iaconelli (BRA), Pro Motorsport (#10) 18. Fabio Leimer (SUI), Jenzer Motorsport (#23) 19. Octavio Freitas (BRA), ADM Motorsport (#16) 20. Tor Graves (GBR), Team JVA (#30) 21. Yuhi Sekiguchi (JAP), Euronova Racing (#45) 22. Tim Sandtler (GER), ISR (#19) Not Classified Dominik Schraml (GER), Scuderia Famà (#26) Michael Meadows (GBR), Euronova Racing (#15) Alberto Costa (ITA), Cram Competition (#3) Sergey Afanasiev (RUS), JD Motorsport (#5)Vladimir Arabadzhiev (BUL), JD Motorsport (#4)
Formula Master drivers classification - top eight 1. Chris van der Drift (NED), JD Motorsport (#6), 20 points 2. Michael Ammermüller (GER), Iris Project (#27), 17 points 3. Sergey Afanasiev (RUS), JD Motorsport (#5), 15 points 4. Kasper Andersen (DEN), Trident Racing (#32), 14 points 5. Fabio Leimer (SUI), Jenzer Motorsport (#23), 11 points 6. Arturo Llobell (ESP), Cram Competition (#1), 9.5 points 7. Norbert Siedler (AUT), ADM Motorsport (#17), 9 points 8. Harald Schlegelmilch (LAT), Trident Racing (#31), 9 points
Formula Master teams classification - top eight1. JD Motorsport, 41 points 2. Trident Racing, 31 points 3. Iris Project, 17 points 4. Cram Competition, 16 points 5. Jenzer Motorsport, 11 points 6. ADM Motorsport, 9 points 7. Pro Motorsport, 6 points 8. ISR, 3 points
Formula Master rookies classification - top eight 1. Michael Ammermüller (GER), Iris Project (#27), 25 points 2. Sergey Afanasiev (RUS), JD Motorsport (#5), 18 points 3. Harald Schlegelmilch (LAT), Trident Racing (#31), 16.5 points 4. Alejandro Núñez (ESP), Trident Racing (#33), 16 points 5. Fabio Leimer (SUI), Jenzer Motorsport (#23), 16 points 6. Vladimir Arabadzhiev (BUL), JD Motorsport (#4), 9 points 7. Yuhi Sekiguchi (JAP), Euronova Racing (#45), 8 points 8. Filip Salaquarda (CZH), ISR (#18), 6 points
Formula Master team-mates classification - top eight 1. Sergey Afanasiev & Chris van der Drift, JD Motorsport, 180 points 2. Kasper Andersen & Alejandro Núñez, Trident Racing, 163.5 points 3. Arturo Llobell & Pablo Sanchez Lopez, Cram Competition, 161 points 4. Alejandro Núñez & Harald Schlegelmilch, Trident Racing, 154 points 5. Kasper Andersen & Harald Schlegelmilch, Trident Racing, 143.5 points 6. Vladimir Arabadzhiev & Chris van der Drift, JD Motorsport, 143 points 7. Sergey Afanasiev & Vladimir Arabadzhiev, JD Motorsport, 141 points 8. Alberto Costa & Arturo Llobell, Cram Competition, 136 points
Lap-by-lap analysis Lap 1: Contact between Siedler, Afanasiev and Arabadzhiev / Afanasiev touches barriers / Arabadzhiev - out / Contact between Crestani and Kral Lap 2: Afanasiev comes into the pits - out / van der Drift up to 15th place / Schlegelmilch up to 16th placeLap 3: Leimer pits for a new nose cone / safety car is deployed Lap 6: Safety car in this lap Lap 7: Graves in barriers at Turn 3 but continues Lap 9: Costa in barriers at Turn 7 - out Lap 13: Leimer sets fastest lap of the race: 1:13.291 Lap 14: Schlegelmilch passes Mihaescu for 12th place Lap 18: Mihaescu passes Schlegelmilch for 12th place Lap 20: Leimer straight on at Turn 2 but recovers / Contact between Meadows and Schraml - both out Lap 21: Safety car is deployed / rain starts Lap 23: Safety car in this lap Lap 24: Race suspended due to heavy rain
Chequered flag: 15:03
