Robin Frijns has won the final Formula BMW Europe championship, overturning Jack Harvey’s points advantage at the final round in Italy.
The Josef Kaufmann Racing driver scored victory in race one- which Harvey ended in the gravel- and finished third in race two to claim the crown. Fortec Motorsport’s Harvey convincingly won the second race, but third was more than enough to ensure Frijns the championship.
Race One
Frijns entered the weekend nine points shy of Harvey, who, after scoring pole for both races, looked perfectly placed to take the title.
But in race one Harvey’s plans began to crumble, as he was beaten off the line by teammate George Katsinis. The Briton managed to maintain second as the cars made for the Retifilo chicane, heading Javier Tarancon (DAMS) and Carlos Sainz Jr (Eurointernational).
The charge to the first chicane had been made all the more difficult by oil left on the track by Dustin Soyfan (DAMS), whose car suffered engine problems on the formation lap, and at a turn where collisions are common it was no surprise to see Luciano Bacheta (DAMS) and Daniil Kvyat (Eurointernational) make contact and exit proceedings.
But it was a collision on lap two that would prove key to the eventual destination of the title, as Harvey collided with Tarancon at Parabolica whilst the pair squabbled over second place. The Brit bounced in to the gravel trap and out of the race, his points lead now at the mercy of Frijns’ drive through the pack.
Out front Katsinis couldn’t maintain his pace, and by lap four he’d slipped back to fourth, with Côme Ledogar (Eifelland Racing) having risen to the top of the order ahead of Frijns. With Harvey out the Dutchman now had even more incentive to push for the win, and crossed the line almost side-by-side with Ledogar on both laps five and six.
On lap seven Frijns made his move, passing Ledogar for the lead. But the Frenchman was in no mood to let the title challenger score an easy win, and fought back to regain the position before the end of the lap.
It stayed that way until lap 12, with Frijns pushing hard but unable to find a way through. Finally the Dutchman broke Ledogar’s resistance, sneaking past as the cars hit Retifilo. This time he was able to maintain the position, and even pulled out an advantage of close to half a second to take a crucial victory. From nine points behind Frijns now held a 21 point lead over Harvey heading in to the last race of the season.
Race Two
For Formula BMW Europe’s final race Jack Harvey was once again on pole. However Frijns entered the race knowing that finishing in the top eight would make him champion, regardless of his rival’s result.
Harvey once again suffered a poor launch, with countryman Luciano Bacheta beating him off the line. However this time he was able to avoid a repeat of his race one collision, as he regained the lead going in to the first chicane. From here Harvey knew that all he could do was pull away and hope that Frijns suffered a problem.
Carlos Sainz Jr was one of the movers of the race, starting 11th before moving up to eighth on the first lap. From there the Spanish teenager gradually climbed the order, eventually finding himself among the scrap for second place. By lap eight this consisted of second place Daniil Kvyat (Eurointernational), who headed Bacheta, Sainz Jr and Frijns, all of whom were separated by less than a second.
Then came a heart-stopping moment for Frijns and his team. Still fifth, the Dutchman watched as Bacheta and Sainz Jr banged wheels in front of him. Frijns was forced to take to the gravel to avoid hitting the slowed DAMS car, but managed to return to the circuit without suffering any damage.
This allowed Kvyat some breathing space, as Bacheta was now forced to fend off Frijns, who clearly wanted to celebrate his impending championship on the podium. He was able to make this a reality on the penultimate lap, passing Bacheta for third place.
Out front Harvey hadn’t put a foot wrong since the start, and came home for his seventh win of the season ahead of Kvyat. However, with Frijns crossing the line third it wasn’t enough, and the Dutchman thus became the final champion of Formula BMW Europe.
“I don’t know how I feel just yet,” Frijns said of his title victory. “I can’t quite believe it.
“In the race I was really taking it easy, especially on the first few laps. Then, when Carlos and Luciano touched in the second chicane I had to go round the outside in the gravel trap. I was lucky I got out.”
Harvey meanwhile was naturally disappointed not to take the championship, but proud of his season’s work.
“I was going to do everything to win today, as coming second wasn’t really an option,” said Harvey. “I’m gutted not to win the title, but feel we did everything we had to do and I have been on the podium 13 times out of the 16 races.”
Frijns finished 11 points clear of Harvey in the final championship standings, with Timmy Hansen over 100 points back in a distant third. Carlos Sainz Jr finished as the year’s top rookie, and took a credible fourth overall. In the teams’ championship it was Frijns’ Josef Kaufmann Racing outfit who took the title, finishing well clear of Fortec.
Watch Formula BMW Europe highlights from the final round at Monza on Saturday 18 September at 9pm (BST) on Motors TV.
James Weeks.
International
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