Benavides and Simonazzi bring their EFO title duel to the penultimate stop, Barcelona

24.09.2024

 

The 2024 Euroformula Open enters its decisive phase: the first of the two last rounds of the year takes place this weekend in the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, three weeks before the season’s wrap-up at Monza. The usual sequence of venues has been switched this year but the substance is intact: things will be decided in these two emblematic tracks of Southern Europe. The numbers tell that the battle for the title will go down to the wire up to Monza, but the three races in the demanding Catalan track could already hold a part of the answer.

Parallel to the track activity, a no less exciting race is going on as preparation for the ‘new’ Euroformula Open to kick-off in 2025 is underway. Dallara is currently building the new 324 chassis and the update kits for the existing 320 which will constitute the grid in 2025, while other suppliers (Tom’s, Cosworth, XAP, Mega-Line, and Le Mans) are working on all the components, from gearbox to electronics, that will be assembled with the new chassis and the new Toyota TGE33 engine. The first ten update kits, to be delivered in December, have already been placed on the market, with orders for more and for the new 324 being finalized. It is expected that at least 16 cars will be ready to take the track for the pre-season testing early next year.

THE BENAVIDES-SIMONAZZI DUEL GETS HOT, BARRICHELLO AIMS AT THIRD SPOT

In the meantime, the focus is on racing and the duel for the title between Brad Benavides, the American of Motopark, and Francesco Simonazzi, the Italian of BVM Racing. The last (and very wet) round at the Red Bull Ring has virtually left things unchanged, with Benavides leading the standings with 377 points, 104 more than Simonazzi. With a maximum 158 points still to be awarded (25 per race win plus 1 per pole position and fastest lap in the three races), nothing is decided.

The two main contenders will also have to take into account the three results to be dropped ahead of the final net count. Based on the situation at this moment, Benavides, who scored in all 18 races so far, would have to drop more points (36) than Simonazzi, who had one DNS (14).

Behind the two top contenders, there will be a man on a mission in Barcelona (and Monza): Fernando Barrichello. The 19-year-old son of Rubens, already assured of winning the Rookies’ Trophy, took a stunning maiden win in Austria, mastering perfectly the changing conditions in Race 2, and will aim to repeat himself in Spain. With an objective: seizing the third spot in the final overall standings, where he currently lies fifth, now that Révész, Bergmeister, and Shin have completed their planned appearances.

The reshuffle in the Motopark line-up will allow new drivers to shine. Mexico’s José Garfias and Briton Edward Pearson already impressed at the Red Bull Ring, with the former taking the pole position on wet and the latter one podium finish.

Mexican presence will be further increased by the presence of Ricardo Escotto (19), who will debut joining from the USF Pro 2000 and the Indy NXT series in the US. Together with Garfias, he will aim at walking in the footsteps of last year’s EFO Champion, Noel León.

On his side, Vladislav Ryabov will make his second appearance in the series, after debuting last year at Paul Ricard, and Paolo Brajnik (NV Racing) will continue to chase Gold Cup honours.