At the legendary Spa Francorchamps circuit, where the weather conditions were changeable from 21st to 23rd June, Chester Kieffer was once again among the frontrunners in the French F4 Championship. On Friday morning, the driver demonstrated his ability to adapt quickly to new tracks, finishing 2nd in the first tests. “Spa Francorchamps is a real monument to motorsport, and I can see why Formula 1 drivers love it. The track is incredible,” said Chester.
Rain began to fall during the day. “Of course, we had to adapt to the change in grip for the Qualifying session, but at least I didn’t have to worry about positioning in relation to the other drivers and the search for slipstream. I just concentrated on my driving and tried to put in the best lap I could. Mission accomplished, with an excellent 3rd time just three tenths off pole position on this 7km track.”
On a track that was still soggy on Saturday morning for Race 1, Chester Kieffer made a magnificent and incisive start to the race to take the lead on the second lap. Put under pressure by a direct rival, the FFSA Academy driver didn’t make the slightest mistake. Concentrating on his objective, he crossed the finish line as a strong winner.
“In Race 2, I still had the pace to fight for victory, but I had to deal with the principle of the inverted grid for the top 10 qualifiers, which put me 8th on the starting grid. I was hoping to make up more places in the opening laps to catch up quickly with the leading group, but that wasn’t the case. I couldn’t do any better than 5th”.
The duel at the front of the field resumed with his main rivals in Race 3. The podium or even victory remained in Chester’s sights, before a feeling of frustration arose for the Luxembourger. “Following a number of incidents, we were stuck behind the safety car for several laps. The last interruption even lasted right up to the finish, without me being able to improve on the 4th place I was in at the time. I scored a lot of points at Spa Francorchamps, so the meeting remains positive. I’m going to do everything I can to win again in July at the Nürburgring in Germany and close the gap on the three drivers ahead of me.”
Info Kartcom / Photo KSP – Guillaume Veuve