US Racing Show at the Debut of the Formula Winter Series

The Pole Kacper Sztuka wins both races at the debut of the Formula Winter Series – and the Swiss Tina Hausmann was also convincing at her racing debut in Formula racing.

Qualifying:

Early on Sunday morning, the Formula Winter Series got serious for the first time, the first two-part qualifying in the history of the race series was held. The Pole Kacper Sztuka, who drove the US Racing car to pole position for both races, was the most rested. His teammates Ruiqi Liu, Frederik Lund and Gianmarco Pradel followed in both qualifying positions. Juan Cota Alonso and Tina Hausmann consolidated Best of the Rest.

Race 1:

The debut race of the Formula Winter Series went to the experienced Formula 4 driver Sztuka, who won the race from pole position. At the head of the field, the Pole controlled the first classification race of the series. In the end, the 17-year-old won after 19 laps by 1.476 seconds ahead of his team-mate Frederik Lund.

The final place on the podium was hard-fought. Only 0.125 seconds separated Gianmarco Pradel in the US Racing car and the young Swiss Tina Hausmann. Hausmann narrowly missed out on podium positions, but managed to thrill the fans in the packed grandstand on her racing debut. Pradel also triumphed in the Junior classification with a narrow finish ahead of the AKM Motorsport driver. Drivex driver Juan Cota Alonso, who finished the race in fifth position overall, completed the top three in the Junior standings.

US Racing driver Ruiqi Liu showed an inspiring recovery in the race. The Chinese driver stalled his engine at the start and dropped to the back of the field. But Liu did not let the setback stop him and fought his way back to sixth position in spectacular fashion. In his race to catch up, the Asian set the fastest lap time of 1:44.225 minutes on the Spanish asphalt.

Race 2:

Kacper Sztuka was also able to triumph in the second race at the wheel of the US Racing Tatuus. Once again, the experienced Formula 4 driver prevailed from pole position and drove to triumph in southern Spain in a controlled manner. The 17-year-old won by 1.7 seconds ahead of his team-mate Ruiqi Liu, who once again showed his talent after making up ground in the first race. Liu’s third position also earned him victory in the junior classification.

Tina Hausmann’s third position was highly acclaimed. The Swiss driver fought her way up from fifth on the grid to third in her AKM Motorsport car and was able to break through the US Racing line-up. With this strong performance, the Swiss driver was able to put her name in the notebook of top-class team bosses.

The race was characterised by exciting duels, which lasted through the entire starting field. For example, Carl Bennett and Maximiliano Restrepo had a thrilling duel for eighth place, in which the Briton Bennett prevailed. And Gianmarco Pradel and Drivex driver Alonso also fought a thrilling battle for fifth position, in which US Racing driver Pradel prevailed and also took third place in the Junior classification.

“It fills us with pride that our newest racing series, the Formula Winter Series, has celebrated its racing debut,” said FWS Project Manager Robin Selbach. “We showed the numerous fans in the stands two exciting races, which were distinguished by outstanding fairness and thrilling duels and multi-disciplines. We are already looking forward to the next race weekend in Valencia, where, as things stand, five more vehicles will be on the grid!”