IFM: Series Brno race one report

JENZER MOTORSPORT CLAIM ONE-TWO FINISH

Jenzer Motorsport claimed this season's first one-two finish with drivers Fabio Leimer and Pål Varhaug today in round five of the International Formula Master Series at the Automotodrom Brno in the Czech Republic.

Leimer took his third victory of the season despite qualifying in P3. A strong start saw the young Swiss pass JD Motorsport's Josef Kral, before overtaking team-mate Varhaug on lap four.

Varhaug held on to second place, claiming his fourth podium in five races, whilst Czech driver Kral secured third place in front of his home crowd, climbing back from a difficult start which saw him drop down to fourth initially.

Fellow JD Motorsport driver Sergey Afanasiev took the chequered flag in fourth place, ahead of ISR's Erik Janis who passed JD Motorsport's Vladimir Arabadzhiev on lap three for an eventual fifth position finish.

Arabadzhiev held on to sixth place until the end of the race, finishing ahead of ISR's Alexander Rossi and Jenzer Motorsport's Nicolas Maulini who claimed seventh and eighth position respectively.

Hitech Junior's Kasper Andersen and AR Motorsport's Dennis Retera provided the afternoon's entertainment when a pass on Retera by Andersen resulted in both drivers racing abreast on the main straight on lap 12.

A tight defensive line from Retera earned him a black and white flag, whilst Andersen had to wait until the last lap to successfully overtake the AR Motorsport driver, and finish in ninth place.

Leimer still leads the drivers' classification after claiming points for today's win and setting the fastest lap of the race in 1:50.096, whilst team-mate Varhaug consolidated his lead in the rookies' classification with this afternoon's performance.

Race two takes place tomorrow, Sunday 21 June, and will be shown live on Eurosport International and Asia Pacific from 09:00 (GMT).

Fabio Leimer, Jenzer Motorsport

"I had a bad qualifying session this morning, for me anyway as I took third when I normally qualify on pole, so it was important to have a really good start. I passed Josef [Kral] and then I knew I only had two or three laps where I could overtake. The circuit is made up of long corners mainly so it's really hard to pass once the race gets underway.

"I was pushing through the race and was consistent with my times so I'm pretty happy; I win three races in three race weekends! For tomorrow, I start the race in eighth place because of the reverse grid and I haven't done well in Sunday races so far this season so we will see. I will push as hard as possible, although I don't think it's easy to overtake on this track."

Pål Varhaug, Jenzer Motorsport

"I had a really good qualifying session this morning; I liked driving in the rain. The race was ok; I had a good start and led for three laps before Leimer passed me. He was very fast so I'm happy to have kept second place."

Josef Kral, JD Motorsport

"The start was my best chance of challenging for a win and unfortunately I started from the dirty line which meant I had a lot of wheel spin and lost time.

"I overtook Sergey [Afanasiev] but it was difficult to pass anyone after that; I pushed as hard as I could but that was the race!"

-credit: ifm