Sandro Zeller keeps the championship open

Drexler Formula Cup – Imola (ITA)

With two very close finishes and a double victory for Sandro Zeller (Jo Zeller Racing), the sixth round of the Drexler Formula Cup was not for the faint-hearted. A record-breaking starting field of 33 formula racing cars provided excitement and drama on the 4.909-kilometre circuit in Imola. Benjamin Berta (Franz Wöss Racing) secured the fastest lap time in qualifying with 1:39.805 minutes, beating his long-time rival Sandro Zeller by 0.981 seconds. The start of the first race on Saturday afternoon was turbulent due to a pile-up. Andre Petropoulos (Team Hoffmann Racing), Stig Larsen (Franz Wöss Racing) and Vaclav Safar (Team Hoffmann Racing) were the victims, parking their Formula 3 cars in the gravel trap, as did Jeremy Clavaud in his Formula Regional. After the safety car phase, Sandro Zeller took the lead. This was preceded by a spectacular overtaking manoeuvre against Giuseppe Marinaro (Sud Motorsport).

The 16-year-old made a great debut in Formula 3 and won the Formula 3 Trophy. When Zeller and Berta pulled away from the field, there was another safety car phase. This did not affect the outcome of the race. Zeller pulled away after the restart and held off Berta by 0.416 seconds despite several attacks from the Hungarian until the finish. Andrea Benalli (Pursport) finished third with a respectable gap of over 5 seconds. Oliver Kratsch (Facondini Racing) finished fifth overall behind Marinaro, relegating Lee Cunningham (Jo Zeller Racing) to sixth place in the overall standings. The Formula Light category was dominated by Michael Fischer (LRT Racing). The Austrian was able to leave Karim Sartori (Speed Motor) well behind him. Dominic Makolm (LRT Racing) finished third on his debut in the Drexler Formula Cup. In the second race on Sunday morning, the field initially took to the track behind the safety car. The rain had left some wet patches on the track. After the restart, the expected battles for position developed, with Benjamin Berta taking the lead. Zeller then overtook the Hungarian, who subsequently launched a successful counterattack. However, the Swiss driver did not let up and took advantage of a situation while lapping the slower cars in the third-to-last lap to secure a one-two victory in Imola ahead of Berta. Berta was beaten by 0.701 seconds.

Andrea Benalli was unable to keep up with the pace of the leading duo in the second race and finished third, more than 26 seconds behind. Behind him, Andre Petropoulos finished fourth overall and also won the Formula 3 Trophy. Vaclav Safar finished second behind his team-mate and achieved an impressive result, finishing a good 12 seconds ahead of Oliver Kratsch. In the Formula Light category, which is dominated by Formula Renault racing cars, Karim Sartori turned the tables. He won by a narrow margin of 0.612 seconds ahead of Michael Fischer, who was satisfied with second place to secure the championship title early. Dominic Makolm completed the successful result for LRT Racing with third place. Sebastian Banchereau (Neri Autosport) and Jeremy Clavaud (Team STAC) emerged as the winners in Formula Regional. Christof Ledermann (Puresport) took second place in both races ahead of Luca Iannaccone (Neri Autosport).   

RS.28.09.2025

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