Stolzerman has excellent speed and a podium in the ‘Rookie’ class in his Italian F4 Championship debut

Photo: from the athlete’s personal archive

Last weekend, Tomas Stolzermanis made his debut in the Italian F4 Championship with a good performance, finishing in the top ten in all three races and on the podium in two races in the “Rookie” classification. Later, for the collision in the third race, the Latvian driver was given a five-second penalty, relegating him to 14th place overall and 5th place in the “Rookie” class, but this could not spoil the joy of the good debut and the speed shown on the Misano track.

Štolcermanis, competing in the “Prema Racing” team, finished 10th and 15th in Friday’s qualifying. The pilot himself was not at all satisfied with that, because in both sessions he lacked experience and a few tenths of a second to break into the top five. Thus, in the first race on Saturday, the Latvian talent started from the 10th place and after exciting battles finished in the 9th place, while showing great speed and setting the fastest lap time of the race.

Photo: from the athlete’s personal archive

The second race promised to be even more full of battles, as it was necessary to start from the 15th position. In an eventful race, in which the safety car also went on the track, Thomas kept his cool and with good overtaking maneuvers fought his way to 8th place overall and 2nd place in the “Rookie” class, allowing him to celebrate his first podium in the Italian F4 Championship.

In the third race, Stolcermanis took to the track from 12th position (which was determined by the second fastest lap time of the second qualifying) and again showed great speed, making several overtakes. In the chaotic race, during which the safety car went on the track three times, the Latvian pilot managed to finish in 7th place overall and in 3rd place in the “Rookie” standings. Unfortunately, after the award, Thomas was given a five-second penalty for causing a collision with a competitor, dropping him to 14th place and parting ways with his newly earned Rookie trophy.

Despite this, Stolzermanis is happy with his debut, as he was able to show good speed, make convincing overtakes and win the first podium in the first weekend. The Latvian pilot adds that with better qualifications he would certainly have been able to participate in the fight for podiums in the absolute ranking. After the first round, the “Prema Racing” pilot is in 13th place overall and 2nd in the “Rookie” class.

The next stage of the Italian F4 championship will take place from May 31 to June 2 at the legendary Imola circuit.

Information prepared by:

Arthur Virbulis
LAF Press Secretary