In the opening round of the European F3 Championship on the street circuit of Pau, Ralf Aron took first place in the third race of the weekend, the prestigious Pau GP.
Based on the first qualifying session of the weekend, the starting grid was set for the opening race and Ralf Aroni set a lap time that gave him third place on the grid. The race started with a number of accidents on the first laps, which meant that a safety car was sent out on each lap. After the restart, Aron managed a superb overtake of Dan Ticktum, who was in second place, and later managed to hold his position until the finish. The second qualifying session on Saturday evening, which was interrupted by rain, set the grid for the two races on Sunday, and Aron finished 11th and 3rd on the grid. In the second race, Ralf Aron managed to improve his position and finished eighth. Sunday afternoon's third race was the long-established Pau Grand Prix. In a rain-drenched start, Aron managed to overtake the two front runners at the start and take the lead. With just over half the distance completed, the race was abandoned due to heavy rain and it was finally decided to call it a day. Ralf Aron, however, added his name to the prestigious list of race winners. As less than 75% of the distance had been covered, half the usual number of points were awarded for this race.
Ralf Aron: "The start was very good, the car was perfect and I felt confident in the changing conditions. Unfortunately the race was finished a bit too early as we didn't complete the 75% distance and so I only scored half points. With full points I would have been the series leader."
Jüri Vips started his first full season at the European F3 Championship on the street circuit in Pau and finished 10th in the opening race, for which he also scored the first point. Unfortunately, due to a failed second qualifying session in the remaining two races, he failed to finish in a points position.
Pau's street circuit is particularly challenging for newcomers, as it does not offer the possibility of testing in the past, as is the case on conventional circuits. In the first qualifying session, Jüri Vips of Motopark finished 12th on the grid and managed to overtake two rivals to finish tenth. However, in the second qualifying session, which was rained out, he was unable to set a good time due to an accident and for the remaining two races, his starting position remained 19th. In both Sunday races, Jüri Vips improved his starting position and finished 17th and 12th respectively.
Jüri Vips: "Actually, my speed was pretty good, but maybe my confidence came even too fast. In the first qualifying session I hit a kerb and had to pit. And in the second qualifying I hit a wall on a wet track and didn't get a good time. Little mistakes ruined the whole weekend. It's difficult to pass on Pau and in dry weather you can only improve with a good start. The first two races were dry and in the third race in the rain we had good speed, but unfortunately that race was abandoned."
