Max Karhan from Jenzer Motorsport took his first F4 Central European Zone victory of the
2025 season. He made a winning overtake on the second lap and never looked back,
securing the succes in Race 1 at Salzburgring.
Gino Trappa started from pole position alongside Karhan, with fellow Jenzer Motorsport
drivers Nicolas Cortes and Javier Herrera lining up right behind them. Unfortunately,
sixth-placed qualifier Mathilda Paatz was unable to start the formation lap and had to be
pushed into the pit lane.
When the red lights went out, the start was clean across the field. Trappa held the lead
initially, followed closely by Karhan. The two slowly pulled away from the rest of the field,
which included Cortes, Herrera, Benett Gáspár, David Walther, Andreas Lo Bue, Hady
Mimassi, David Gorčica and Simon Schranz.
Karhan launched his attack at the end of the second lap, passing Trappa on the outside of
Turn 10 to take the lead. Trappa stayed close behind, with Cortes and Herrera just a few car
lengths back.
Behind the leading quartet, Walther and Gáspár battled for fifth. However, Gáspár looked like
he had an issue with the car, went off track and headed straight into the pit lane.
The field soon split into two main groups: the four Jenzer drivers up front, and a chasing trio
of Walther, Lo Bue and Gorčica battling for positions five through seven. Unfortunately,
contact occurred between Walther and Gorčica at the entry to the final sequence of corners.
Gorčica went off the track and crashed into the barriers, damaging his car’s right-front
suspension.
A safety car was deployed, with the running order: Karhan, Trappa, Cortes, Herrera, Lo Bue,
Walther, Schranz, Mimassi, Borenstein and Sabaj completing the top ten.
The race was restarted with just four minutes remaining. Karhan maintained his lead under
pressure from Trappa, who mounted several attacks. However, Karhan held firm, driving
consistently to deny his teammate any real chance of overtaking.
Max Karhan claimed his first victory of the 2025 season, with Trappa finishing just 0.482
seconds behind. Cortes completed the podium in third, with Herrera in fourth, giving Jenzer
Motorsport a clean sweep of the top four positions.
Andreas Lo Bue of Maffi Racing achieved his best F4 CEZ result so far with fifth place, while
local driver Simon Schranz brought home an impressive sixth for Renauer Motorsport.
His teammate Hady Mimassi followed closely in seventh. Walther crossed the line in eighth, though
his collision with Gorčica remained under investigation. After starting from the pit lane, Mathilda
Paatz fought her way back to finish ninth, and Theodor Borenstein rounded out the top ten.
