AGI Sport’s James Piszcyk takes clean sweep of victories in Formula 4 Australian Championship

AGI Sport’s James Piszcyk takes clean sweep of victories in Formula 4 Australian Championship’s return to Australia at The Bend Motorsport Park!

Qualifying (based on results of Qualifying 1)

Pole: 93. James Piszcyk AGI Sport
Master Class Pole: 81. Mark Rosser (M) JAM Motorsport
Rookie pole: 24. Seth Gilmore (R) AGI Sport

Race 1 

AGI Sport’s James ‘Jimmy’ Piszcyk took victory in Race 1, ahead of JAM Motorsport’s Blake Purdie, and AGI Sport team mate and rookie, Seth Gilmore. Piszcyk held the lead at race start and led the field away. Nicolas Stati had a brief off in the dirt but was able to recover and continue, which allowed Gilmore to close the gap. The top five remained consistent with positions unchanged in the opening laps of the race. 

Rosser had a roller coaster day, which saw him drop back at the start, recover and gain a couple of positions, before an off which brought out the safety car for the first time. 

A battle for the lead broke out between Piszcyk and Purdie after the restart with 6.5 minutes remaining in the race, with Stati close behind the lead pair. 

A second safety car, this time after Nathan Gotch came to a stop on track after avoiding an incident, the field bunched up once again before a two-lap dash to the flag. 

Piszcyk took the win ahead of Purdie and Stati, but a five-second time penalty for the latter saw him drop to fifth. Gilmore was fourth and top Rookie Cup. John Paul Drake crossed the line in sixth and topped the Master Class, ahead of AGI Sport rookie Joanne Ciconte, who finished seventh in her first ever Formula 4 race, an amazing effort for the 15-year-old. 

Nicholas Filipetto finished eighth, ahead of Mark Wilson in ninth. Rosser and Gotch both had a DNF after their separate incidents. 

Results

1. 93. James Piszcyk AGI Sport
2. 48. Blake Purdie JAM Motorsport
3. 24. Seth Gilmore (R) AGI Sport
Rookie Cup 24. Seth Gilmore (R) AGI Sport
Master Class 1. John Paul Drake (M) JAM Motorsport

Race 2 

With a starting grid based on the result of Race 1, AGI Sport’s James “Jimmy” Piszcyk made it back-to-back wins in Race 2 at The Bend Motorsport Park on Sunday morning. JAM Motorsport’s Blake Purdie continued his run of podiums with second place, ahead of Nicolas Stati in third. 

Piszcyk capitalised off a clean race, which saw no safety car interruptions, set the fastest lap and won for AGI Sport by over five seconds. Purdie continued to put JAM Motorsport on the podium with another strong performance, to clinch second once more. 

Sebastien Amadio had a strong start, and passed top rookie class driver Seth Gilmore to move into third on the first lap, before Stati also passed Gilmore and moved into fourth, and then into third. Saturday’s Rookie Cup winner took his position back and took fourth place overall to top of the Rookie Cup once again. Amadio rounded out the top five.

Master Class was won by JAM Motorsport’s Mark Rosser, who came from last position, even with technical problems, to finish sixth overall and first in his class, an amazing comeback drive. 

Joanne Ciconto had another strong drive for the Rookie, which saw her moved into sixth on the first lap and battled strongly throughout the race to finish seventh once again. 

Nicholas Filipetto finished eighth overall, but second in the Master Class, ahead of Nathan Gotch, who rounded out the Master’s podium. Saturday’s Master Class winner, JP Drake, had to start from the pit lane after a technical issue, but was able to fight back quickly to catch the field and finished tenth overall. Mark Wilson finished eleventh.

Results

1. 93. James Piszcyk AGI Sport
2. 48. Blake Purdie JAM Motorsport
3. 15. Nicolas Stati AGI Sport
Rookie Cup 24. Seth Gilmore (R) AGI Sport
Master Class: 81. Mark Rosser (M) JAM Motorsport

Race 3

Qualifying (based on the result of Qualifying 2)

Pole: 93. James Piszcyk AGI Sport
Master Class Pole: 81. Mark Rosser (M) JAM Motorsport
Rookie pole: 24. Seth Gilmore (R) AGI Sport

Race

A clean sweep was completed by Jimmy Piszcyk, who finished Race 3 with not only three pole positions, but also three wins, for the opening round of Formula 4 Australian Championship.

Blake Purdie took second place from Nicolas Stati on the line, but because the corner was under double yellows with a stranded car, he was given a post-race 30 second penalty, which dropped him to fifth, behind Sebastien Amadio.

The penalty moved Rookie Cup Round winner, AGI Sport’s Seth Gilmore onto the final podium position, his second of the weekend. 

Mark Rosser leads the Master Class with a very close battle between Gotch, Nichols Filipetto and JP Drake for second in the class. With 7 minutes to go Drake did a brave pass on Filipetto and took 8th place and third in Master Class, but the three remained close and Filipetto took the place back, then spun on his own and Drake and moved into the final podium position.

Joanne Ciconte had to start Race 3 from pit lane but was able to catch the field and pass Mark Wilson for 10th. Filipetto suffered a DNF after his incident at the final corner.

Results 
1. 93. James Piszcyk AGI Sport
2. 15. Nicolas Stati AGI Sport 
3. 24. Seth Gilmore (R) AGI Sport 
Rookie Cup 24. Seth Gilmore (R) AGI Sport
Master Class: 81. Mark Rosser (M) JAM Motorsport

Round 2 will also be held at The Bend Motorsport Park, 7 – 9 June. 

All races will be streamed on Facebook and YouTube.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/F4Aus 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@F4AustralianChampionship

Full results on natsoft.com.au – circuit racing

Davide de Gobbi, General Manager of Top Speed: 

We are very proud to have completed a successful weekend at The Bend Motorsport Park with the return of Formula 4 in Australia. The teams, drivers and fans have enjoyed a great event, which we look forward to replicating and growing for Round 2. 

Adam Gotch, AGI Sport Managing Director: 

It’s been great to kick start FIA Formula 4 racing in Australia this weekend at The Bend Motorsport Park. The facilities here are just fantastic and The Bend management have been very welcoming to our returning category.

FIA level Formula 4 racing is booming across the world with many Australians competing abroad now. We can now offer that first step out of Karts into the same Formula 4 machinery that is used right now in Europe and the Middle East. Drivers can now learn their craft in the Tatuus Gen 2 F4 before they take on the best in the world in the numerous F4 Championships using this car.

Aaron Steer, JAM Motorsport Managing Director: 

It is the first time we run in Formula 4. We have learned a lot about the car, with a lot more to learn and a lot more to test. We are quite surprised how close we are to the lead car given we have no experience with these cars, and it is the first time Blake Purdie has driven a Formula 4 too. 

If you are interested in joining the field for the next event, please contact matthijs.hoitink@gmail.com and cyrille@topspeedchina.com 

2024 F4 AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR

Round 1: 05 May The Bend Motorsport Park, SA
Round 2: 09 June The Bend Motorsport Park, SA
Round 3: 14 July Queensland Raceway, QLD 
Round 4: 04 Aug Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW
Round 5: 08 Sep Sepang International Circuit, Sepang, Malaysia
Ferrari Drivers Academy Selection Camp: 17-19 September