Solenn Amrouche makes steps forward in Hoosier Formula Cup, secures P4 in Portimão
- MACIEJ JACKIEWICZ
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
“It was a weekend that gave me a lot of confidence" - Solenn Amrouche secured her best result to date in Hoosier Formula Cup, with a P4 finish during the second race at Portimão, as the young French racer, in her rookie single seater season, is making remarkable progress in each round.
Solenn Amrouche secured her best result to date in Hoosier Formula Cup, with a P4 finish during the second race at Portimão. The young French racer, in her rookie single seater season, is making remarkable progress in each round and demonstrated much improved pace and good racecraft on the very demanding circuit.
Solenn Amrouche’s campaign in the Hoosier Formula Cup started in March, at the Circuit Paul Ricard. Since then, she has been constantly closing in on the front runners, with a P5 finish at the French circuit. At Mugello, during the next round of the championship, she consistently finished within the top 10, concluding the weekend with P7, P6, and P8.
Amrouche, who had previously only raced in endurance and sportscars, is quickly building experience at the wheel of the highly demanding Tatuus T318 Formula Regional machine, and has tackled this rookie campaign with plenty of determination to learn - and is doing so quickly.
The third weekend began early for the Hoosier Formula Cup entries, as the practice sessions took place on Thursday and Friday. Solenn Amrouche steadily improved, and did not leave the top 7 in the overall classification, shortening the gaps off the top in the 15-car grid.
At 15:40 local time, the first 15-minute qualifying session kicked off, with Amrouche immediately heading out on track. After her first flying lap, she set a 1:47.333, which put her in P6. The next lap was even better, as the French driver improved up to P5, with a 1:44.935 lap time. This, as it turned out later, would be the best lap for the Lamo Racing Car driver. Despite a spin, she was able to continue and finished the first qualifying session in P6, just 2.142 sec off overall pole position.
The second qualifying commenced just after, and this time she headed out on track with 14 minutes to go. The session was a bit more tricky for Amrouche, who despite some issues was up to speed and her first completed flying lap put her in P7. She later improved, but held that position.
The end of qualifying was chaotic, with a series of incidents across the field; Amrouche however finished the second qualifying session in P7, in a solid effort which allowed her to qualify again in the top 10.
The final session of the day for Hoosier Formula Cup on Friday was indeed the first race, for which Amrouche qualified sixth, but thanks to Aaron Ferrazzano not starting the race, she would line up on the grid in the fifth spot. After the start however, she initially fell down to P6. She would have to wait to make up the position lost, as the safety car went out on track due to a collision between Alain Bucher and Thierry Malhomme, which resulted in the latter retiring from the race.
The race restarted on lap 4, and instantly Amrouche was able to get closer to Laurent Wuthrich, who occupied fifth position. After a few laps of putting pressure on the Swiss driver, Solenn was able to overtake Wuthrich by going down the inside into turn 1. After this fantastic manoeuvre, the Lamo Racing Car driver was able to bring home a fifth place finish, which was, at the time, the best result Amrouche had achieved in Hoosier Formula Cup - equalling her personal best from Paul Ricard.
Saturday started with the second race for the Hoosier Formula Cup. Amrouche started the race in P7 and after a clean start, she was able to overtake Laurent Wuthrich in the last corner of the circuit. She couldn't quite keep the pace of Mateo Valente in P5, and for the rest of the race, the French driver defended masterfully from Wuthrich. The first half of the race was calm, but it all changed when on lap 7 Thierry Malhomme came to a halt on track. The safety car was out, despite Malhomme being able to rejoin the race.
The neutralization ended on lap 9, with 3 minutes to go, but the race effectively concluded in turn 1 of lap 10, when Dylan Estre and Aaron Ferrazzano crashed into each other. This prompted a red flag, ending the race with results taken from lap 9. Solenn Amrouche was therefore classified in P6, but post-race penalties for both Estre and Ferrazzano gave Amrouche P4, her best finish to date in the Hoosier Formula Cup.
The weekend ended with race 3, for which Amrouche lined up from P4. After the red lights went out, the French driver lost a position to Dylan Estre, but solidly kept fifth. Afterwards, Aaron Ferrazzano started closing in to Amrouche, and despite great defending, she lost the position to the Belgian driver.
The next laps were composed for Amrouche, but in the lower parts of the classification, drivers were battling for the top positions in the Gentleman class: this resulted in a crash between Laurent Wuthrich and Craig McLatchey, but fortunately both of them were able to continue the race.
The last laps were very good for Amrouche, as she started approaching fifth-placed Mateo Valente, but unfortunately ran out of time to overtake him. The Lamo Racing Car driver finished the race in P6, after a great drive, in which during six laps she gained two seconds over the Paraguayan in fifth.
“There has been a great improvement between my first race where I did P11 and today I managed to do P4 and in my last race, I was almost 1 second off Mateo Valente, my rival in the championship” – the French driver commented after the race.
Overall, the weekend was very successful for Amrouche. She achieved her best ever finishing position in Hoosier Formula Cup, but most importantly, she gained a lot of valuable experience, in both offensive and defensive driving. “It was a weekend that gave me a lot of confidence and proved to me that I was able to get a podium in just three meetings. I'm already there, I can’t wait to live the rest!” – Solenn Amrouche said.
The next round of the Hoosier Formula Cup, held as part of the Ultimate Cup Series package, will take place in September, at a new venue for the series – Motorland Aragón. Solenn Amrouche will certainly be strong at the Spanish circuit, as she secured a class podium there, during her time in the Spanish GT Championship.
