Lorenzo Fluxá finishes the Spanish F4 season settled on 6th position

THE CIRCUIT OF BARCELONA-CATALUNYA WAS THE STAGE OF THE LAST ROUND OF THE SPANISH F4 CHAMPIONSHIP. LORENZO FLUXÁ FINISHED THE 2020 SEASON WITH TWO P6 ON THE LONGER RACES AND P11 ON THE SHORTEST ONE. THE 15-YEAR-OLD MAJORCAN, SPONSORED BY LJs RATXÓ ECO LUXURY RETREAT, MADE IN MONTMELÓ TWO GREAT SHOWCASES TO FINISH SIXTH.

To finish sixth on his debut on the Spanish F4 Championship wasn’t what was targeted at the beginning of the season of Lorenzo Fluxá, but taking into account how the season developed it can be considered a great result. Runner-up on the F4 UAE during the winter season, the goal for the Balearic driver was higher, but the dominance by Dutch team MP Motorsport on the 2020 F4 Spain has not allowed him to finish higher. This is why his 6^th position must be evaluated fairly. He is the first non-MP Motorsport classified, achieved at the wheel of a car from the Spanish team Global Racing Service. Furthermore, the 15-year-old Majorcan finished as the second-best Spanish driver of the grid.

Speed and consistency have been the fundamental characteristics by Lorenzo Fluxá during the season. His racecraft was already shown on his debut at Circuito de Navarra, where he got his first podium. Four months later, on the last event of the season, the Majorcan has done three solid races, specially the two where he finished in 6^th. During the weekend, he had two objectives: trying to catch up with 5^th overall Oliver Goethe (MP Motorsport) and not allowing Quique Bordas (Fórmula de Campeones) to snatch his 6^th. In two of the three races, Lorenzo Fluxá finished in front of both drivers, although it wasn’t enough to take P5 from the Dutch.

The first Qualifying session was one of the tightest of the season, having 12 drivers in just 1 second. This way, the Balearic’s 9^th was very positive, his Global Racing Service being only behind the untouchables MP Motorsport and the three fastest drivers of Drivex School. On the second Qualifying, Lorenzo Fluxá achieved an even better result, climbing up to 7^th on the grid.

Starting on P9, the driver sponsored by LJs Ratxó Eco Luxury Retreat placed himself in 8^th after a mistake on Paul Adrien Pallot, from Drivez School. The cars were in a tight group. He passed Lena Buhler (Drivex School) rising up to 7^th. From that moment on, the Majorcan set his sights on 6^th placed Ivan Nosov (Drivex School), who was challenging Thomas Ten Brinque (MP Motorsport) for P5. Behind them Lena Buhler and Quique Bordás were attacking Lorenzo. On the fifth lap, Bordás passed Buhler and put himself behind Lorenzo. On the second half of the race Lorenzo attacked Nosov. Meanwhile, Pallot passed Bordás while a mistake by Oliver Goethe (MP Motorsport) made him lose some places. This caused Lorenzo to climb up to 6^th, where he finished the race, gathering some vital points for the Championship.

On Sunday morning, the second race was held. Lorenzo Fluxá was starting from eight, position achieved with his second-best lap on the first Qualifying session. On the start, he let a position go after being passed by Mari Boya (MP Motorsport), who was starting alongside him. This way the Majorcan was 9^th, having Quique Bordás on his slipstream. On the second lap, he passed Pallot and recovered 8^th place, although the Drivex driver passed him soon after, a moment Quique Bordás seized to pass him as well, leaving the GRS Team driver on 10^th. At the end of the straight, on the third lap, Lorenzo Fluxá passed Bordás again, and got into P9. Lorenzo stabilized his gap to Bordás, securing 9^th place, but unable to reach Pallot. On the eight lap, the other driver from the Fórmula de Campeones team, Carles Martínez, passed his teammate Bordás and it was him who challenged Lorenzo for P9. Precisely on the ninth lap both drivers passed Lorenzo Fluxá, relegating him to P11.

The last race of the 2020 season started with Lorenzo being 7^th on the grid. The driver spondored by LJs Ratxó Eco Luxury Retreat had to avoid Lena Buhler, as the car of the Swiss driver stalled at the start. That way, Lorenzo Fluxá put himself behind Ivan Nosov, who he passed at the end of the first lap. This way, the Majorcan put himself in 5^th. On the second lap, Nosov got his position back while Carles Martínez and Quique Bordás were right behind them. By then, the Russian and the Majorcan got closer to the 4^th classified Mari Boya. Despite this, halfway through the race Nosov drove away from the Balearic’s reach, while he distanced six seconds away from his pursuer, Carles Martínez. This way, Lorenzo Fluxá finished P6, an excellent result, precisely on the same position in which he would finish the Championship.

Lorenzo Fluxá: “It’s been a hard season, really. This last 6^th position was the best we could aspire to as we fought with a wooden stick against an army. Being the first non-MP Motorsport classified is in some way a satisfaction. This last race at Barcelona wasn’t bad. It’s been a weekend we could properly prepare for, with the soft tyre compound we were going to use on the races. I can’t say I’m happy, but it’s true that finishing the season fighting again for positions at the front makes you finish on a good note. On Qualifying we could go a step further and on the racer the tyre wear made us suffer. Had we had more pace, we could have finished on the top 5, but that’s what we had”.

RESULTS OF THE CIRCUIT DE BARCELONA-CATALUNYA MEETING

Race 1 (25’ + 1 lap)
1st- Kas Haverkort (MP Motorsport), 15 laps, 27’18”924
2nd- Thomas Ten Brinke (MP Motorsport), + 3”107
3rd- Mari Boya (MP Motorsport), + 7”455
4th- Joshua Dufek (MP Motorsport), + 8”009
5th – Ivan Nosov (Drivex School), +  11”432
6th- Lorenzo Fluxá (Global Racing Service), + 12”087
… until 17 classified

Race 2 (18’ + 1 lap)
1st- Kas Haverkort (MP Motorsport), 11 laps, 19’56”153
2nd – Ivan Nosov (Drivex School), +  4”269
3rd- Mari Boya (MP Motorsport), + 4”554
4th- Thomas Ten Brinke (MP Motorsport), + 7”973
5th- Lena Buhler (Drivex School), + 9”984
11th- Lorenzo Fluxá (Global Racing Service), + 19”421
… until 17 classified

Race 3 (25’ + 1 lap)
1st- Thomas Ten Brinke (MP Motorsport), 15 laps, 27’17”038
2nd- Kas Haverkort (MP Motorsport), + 5”352
3rd- Mari Boya (MP Motorsport), + 5”696
4th- Joshua Dufek (MP Motorsport), + 8”890
5th- Ivan Nosov (Drivex School), +  4”269
6th- Lorenzo Fluxá (Global Racing Servic), + 13”709
… until 17 classified