Benjamin Berta on his way to the title

Drexler Formula Cup - Automotodrom Brno (CZE)

For Benjamin Berta (Franz Wöss Racing), the door to defending his title is wide open after the seventh race weekend of the Drexler Formula Cup. The Hungarian dominated both races on the 5.403-kilometre circuit with his second double victory of the season at the Masaryk Racing Days. Berta had dominated qualifying for the first race on Saturday afternoon, beating Kurt Böhlen (Jo Zeller Racing) by 0.761 seconds. Sandro Zeller (Jo Zeller Racing) remained just behind his compatriot and completed the second row of the grid with Victor Smialek (Franz Wöss Racing).

After the start, Benjamin Berta took the lead of the field while Victor Smialek got off to a great start and took second place ahead of Böhlen. The latter had to let Sandro Zeller pass him at the end of the first lap. Benjamin Berta continuously increased his lead over the course of the 13-lap race and controlled the field. Towards the end of the race, Sandro Zeller pushed closer and closer to Smialek, but the Canadian defended his attacks with bravura right to the finish. Kurt Böhlen finished fourth ahead of a well-performing Vaclav Safar (GT2 Motorsport), while Andre Petropoulos (Team Hoffmann Racing) came out on top against Marcel Tobler (Jo Zeller Racing) in the Formula 3 Trophy classification. Robert Rowe (Team Hoffmann Racing) finished third, relegating Luca Iannaccone (Neri Autosport) to fourth place. In qualifying for the second race, Benjamin Berta set a fabulous time of 1:52.142 minutes. Victor Smialek was 0.662 seconds off the pace and Sandro Zeller was 0.936 seconds behind the defending champion in third place.

At the start, Victor Smialek initially put all his eggs in one basket and led the field before Benjamin Berta re-established the order. The following laps largely mirrored the course of the race from the previous day. Berta drove away from the field and by lap 9 had gained over eight seconds. While Smialek defended his second position, Vaclav Safar closed in on Sandro Zeller. However, Zeller was not taken by surprise. Even a safety car phase on the last lap did not change the order after the restart. Berta won ahead of Smialek and Zeller. In the midfield, Roman Roubicek (STK Melnik) and Andre Petropoulos battled for eighth position with hard-fought duels, which Petropoulos ultimately won. Marcel Tobler was the measure of all things in the Formula 3 Trophy and was crowned champion of the Formula 3 Trophy in the Drexler Formula Cup ahead of time. In the Formula Light class, Dr Norbert Groer (Team Hoffmann Racing) won both races and reduced his deficit in the standings to Karim Sartori (Speed Motor).

RS.09.09.2024

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