After promising free practice and her third pole position, Juju Noda was expected to claim more podium spots at last weekend's round of Danish F4 at Ring Djursland. Ultimately, her efforts were not fully rewarded and the Japanese sensation came home with a P7 as best finish.
The start of the third Danish F4 weekend was very promising for young Japanese star Juju Noda, as she ended the free practice sessions with a 2nd place. Qualifying was even better, with yet another pole position for Race 1. It was her third pole out of three race weekends for the 14-year old driver.
Juju lost her lead right at the beginning of the race, as she had wheelspin off the line and Sebastian Ogaard (Team FSP) sprinted past. He pulled away, but after Mads Hoe (F5/Mads Hoe Motorsport) had also managed to find a way past Juju, he caught up and snapped the lead a few laps to the chequered flag.
Juju had to fight for the last podium spot as Benjamin Frislund (Team FSP) tried to pass her with a late lunge and spun her around, dropping the driver of the Noda Racing team down the order. Frislund was penalized and was forced to two penalty laps - the widest line at the first corner - and dropped back to fifth.
The final podium spot went to William Wulf (Team FSP), while Noda finished in 10th position and scored a point, even though she had spent most of the race in third place before being sent into the spin.
In Race 2, Juju started from the 10th grid position and was again spun early in the race. At the front of the field, Ogaard - who had started sixth - was set to attack polesitter Jacob Bjerring (F5/Mads Hoe Motorsport) for the lead. As Ogaard passed Bjerring, he pulled away to gain a 4.670 second gap ahead of Frislund and Conrad Laursen (Team FSP) at the finish line.
With a strong recovery in the race, Juju finished 7th to score points, but dropped down to sixth in the championship standings.
Race 3 was a flag to flag win for Ogaard, who finished a strong weekend on top of the podium ahead of Frislund and Mads Hoe.
Juju started very well, passed several cars in front of her and caught up with Wulf in third. During their battle for the final podium spot, Wulf headed towards the inside line and the two drivers made contact. Juju's left front wheel collided with Wulf's right rear wheel, which flipped him into the air. At first, Wulf landed into the barriers with Noda behind. The race was over for both, while the rest of the pack followed the Safety Car for the remaining of the race.
Other female racers on the grid - both competing in the F5 class - were Line Sønderskov (Sønderskov Motorsport) and Mille Hoe (Mads Hoe Motorsport). Sønderskov had a solid weekend with two eighth place finishes in the opening and final heats of the Ring Djursland weekend, while Hoe clinched two ninth places and claimed her first top-ten finishes of her season.
The next race event will take place at Padborg Park from 10th to 11th October for the fourth round of the 2020 Danish F4 season.