Juju Noda celebrates first double victory

Drexler-Automotive Formula Cup - Spa Francorchamps (BEL)

It was only a question of time when Juju Noda (Noda Racing) could celebrate her first big success in the Drexler Formula Cup. The fact that the Japanese driver succeeded in Spa under the eyes of her father, ex-F1 driver Hideki Noda, is all the more pleasing. Over the entire weekend Noda convinced in the Ardennes with her pace and took pole position in qualifying with a time of 2:15.343 min ahead of returnee Cian Carey (Franz Wöss Racing) and Bernardo Pellegrini (HP Powertrain). Early Friday morning, she had even shone with an even faster lap time (2:14.634 min) in free practice. In the first run, Noda took the lead and was able to build up an advantage. Benjamin Berta (Franz Wöss Racing) managed to push Cian Carey back to third, while Bernardo Pellegrini dropped back to 6th position. Juju Noda made no mistakes during the 10-lap race. She finished 4.045 seconds ahead of second-placed Benjamin Berta, who held off Cian Carey for third place by 2 seconds. Sandro Zeller (Jo Zeller Racing) missed the podium, as did Francesco Galli (G Motorsport). Both were out of reach with a gap of more than 10 seconds and had no chance to intervene.

At the start of the second race on Sunday, Cian Carey catapulted past Juju Noda and briefly took the lead. However, the Irishman overdid it with his pace, braked after Eau Rouge and lost a few places as a result. Juju Noda took the reins again and kept the chasing group with Benjamin Berta, Sandro Zeller and Bernardo Pellegrini at bay. As the day before, it was an exciting race in which the pilots gave each other nothing in hard-fought duels. On the seventh lap, Enrico Milani and Edoardo Bonanomi collided after a duel. A safety car period was now necessary to bring the field back together. Juju Noda completed the re-start on the last lap in bravura style. She defended the razor-thin lead of 0.332 seconds until the chequered flag fell. Benjamin Berta finished second and held off Sandro Zeller for third. Cian Carey finished fifth behind Bernardo Pellegrini. In Formula Renault, Andreas Stamann shared the heat wins with his success on Saturday and Dr.Norbert Groer (Team Hoffmann Racing)on Sunday. "We have had a great weekend here with an extremely happy Juju Noda. My thanks also go to the organizer and their organization. The Spa Summer Classic was really fun for everyone involved," summed up coordinator Franz Wöss.

RS.10.07.2023
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