Round 2 of Formula 4 Spanish Championship, held at Circuito de Navarra, was a tough weekend for GRS, as the team fell short of achieving its ideal results. Nevertheless, everyone involved gave their all to keep learning and make progress ahead of the upcoming events.
Circuito de Navarra hosted the second round of the 2025 Spanish Formula 4 season on May 3 and 4. The track returned to the calendar after being absent in 2024, featuring a revised layout with increased length, more corners, and new overtaking spots. Back in March, GRS had the chance to compete at the track for the first time during the EuroCup-4 Spanish Winter Championship race weekend, with one of its current drivers, Aleksandar Bogunovič.
For our other driver, Daniel Dallakyan, it would be his first experience at Navarra. As part of the team’s preparations, two days of Official Collective Testing took place on Tuesday and Wednesday of race week. Both the team and drivers were therefore well-prepared and familiar with the circuit when the weekend arrived. On Friday, three additional test sessions were held, in which our drivers performed strongly—particularly in Saturday’s rainy conditions.
Saturday’s action unfolded in dry weather. As usual, qualifying sessions were extremely close, with every tenth of a second making a difference in securing a good grid position. Unfortunately, neither Dallakyan nor Bogunovič managed to set fast enough lap times to be at the front. The Armenian driver qualified in 27th, with the Slovenian in P30—positions from which they would start Races 1 and 2.
In Race 1, the GRS drivers showed competitive pace, gained positions, capitalised on others’ mistakes, and avoided trouble to move up the field. Dallakyan finished the race in P21, with Bogunovič in 23rd.
On Sunday morning, following a qualifying session to forget that determined the grid for Race 3, the second race of the weekend took place. Its development was similar to that of the first, with both drivers gaining positions and closing in on the fight for the Top 20. Midway through the race, Dallakyan was hit by a rival and had to pit to retire the car, as the left sidepod was visibly damaged. Bogunovič claimed his best result of the season so far after finishing in 19th position.
The start of Race 3 was absolute chaos. Several drivers were involved in incidents, while others had to take evasive action to avoid collisions. Dallakyan and Bogunovič managed to stay clear of trouble and each gained over ten positions, moving into the Top 20. When the race resumed after a Safety Car period, the concertina effect bunched up the midfield, triggering a collision that, this time, our drivers could not avoid. Both had to pit for repairs, and Dallakyan ultimately retired from the race. Bogunovič crossed the finish line in 23rd place.
We leave behind a challenging weekend full of obstacles. The results were not what we hoped for, but we take away valuable lessons, learning, and experience that will undoubtedly make us stronger for the rest of the season. Congratulations to all our drivers and team members for their admirable effort to always compete at the highest level. Formula 4 Spanish Championship will return on June 7–8 at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal.
