Pavel Bulantsev keeps the lead in the SMP Formula 4 Championship

19 August 2019/ smp

The sixth round of the SMP Formula 4 Championship took place on August 17-18 at the Moscow Raceway in Moscow region together with the sixth round of the SMP RCRS as a part of the Festival of Speed.

SMP Racing driver Pavel Bulantsev won the Saturday race, on Sunday he was second fastest and scored enough points to keep the lead in the overall standings. Now there is only a 1-point difference between the drivers fighting for second and third places.

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SMP Racing drivers Alexey Nesov and Artem Lobanenko with 175 points and 174 points, respectively. Both drivers still have chances to win the season, as Pavel Bulantsev, the leader in the overall standings, currently has 213 points.

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Alexey Nesov stands on the podium in almost every race. The sixth round of the SMP Formula 4 Championship was no exception: the SMP Racing junior driver uses all the opportunities for overtaking and fights with his rivals for places on the podium. In the Saturday race, Alexey earned the silver medal, on Sunday - the bronze one.

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Artem Lobanenko was able to show his racing skills in the second race. Rain did not stop him from pursuing Pavel Bulantsev throughout the race and overtaking his rival on the last lap and taking an important victory.

The first race of the 6th round of the SMP Formula 4 Championship, first three drivers:

1. Pavel Bulantsev
2. Alexey Nesov
3. Nikita Alexandrov

The second race of the 6th round of the SMP Formula 4 Championship, first three drivers:

1. Artem Lobanenko
2. Pavel Bulantsev
3. Alexey Nesov

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“There were quite severe rainy weather conditions, especially on Sunday,” SMP Racing junior driver Pavel Bulantsev said. “The start of the second race was with the safety car, and this also played a role in the course of the race. I started from pole position and managed to build a gap from my rival in the beginning, I felt some confidence. Then Artem got close to me, I saw him in the mirrors, and this affected my concentration. On the last lap, he overtook me on the outside and won the race. But I stood on the podium twice this weekend, won one of the races, scored good points – that’s what important to me. I will prepare for the next round in Sochi and work on myself.”
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“I tried to stay close to Pasha, we had similar speed, but in the end, I think he either overheated the tyres or simply lost his time and I got close to him,” SMP Racing driver Artem Lobanenko said about the second race. “I saw that he was slowing down early at the entrance to the turn and tried to brake as late as possible. As a result, I locked the wheels, but still stayed on the track and overtook him on the outside, my plan worked out. This was the first race for me in such heavy rain. At first it was very difficult, because I saw only a flashing light from Pasha’s car, but in the second part of the race it got better, and I was able to get closer to Bulantsev and attack him.”
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15 thousand spectators visited the Festival of Speed at Moscow Raceway, despite the rainy weather. The visitors are offered a wide variety of activities designed for family members of all ages: access to the park with racing cars, children's fun zone, prize draw, drift shows, racing simulators, food court and much more.

SMP Racing driver Kirill Ladygin won the Sunday race of the SMP Russian Circuit Racing Series in the Touring class and took second place in the overall standings. He is now 15 points away Dmitry Bragin, the leader in the class.

The seventh, final round of the SMP RCRS and SMP Formula 4 Championship will take place on September 7-8 at the Sochi Autodrome (Sochi).
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