Herta on podium in eventful Barcelona race…

 
Colton Herta claimed another podium finish today in the EuroFormula Open Championship in Barcelona.  The 17-year-old racer started from pole position, but crossed the line in third place after an eventful and usual race for the young American.  Team mates Keyvan Andres and Ameya Vaidyanathan showed great pace as well, the duo enjoyed a close battle for P5 in the final stages, making it all three Carlin cars in the top six at the flag, with both Herta and Andres on the rookie podium.  
 
Starting from pole position for the second consecutive weekend, Herta started had a clear track ahead of him as the first race of the weekend got underway at the Circuit de Catalunya this afternoon. The young American made a good start, but a fast starting Ferdinand Habsburg from p2 immediately put the Carlin man under pressure. Habsburg took the lead down the start finish straight, but being forced wide at turn one, Herta took the shorter route off track and took the lead back.
 
Behind the leaders, Andres and Vaidyanathan both made strong starts, with Andres running in p6 with Vaidyanathan making up places just behind him in p7. Herta meanwhile was managing to pull away from Habsburg, but the youngster was quickly ordered to give the lead back to Habsburg after the turn one incident by race control.
 
Herta’s race became more complicated when Habsburg behind was passed by Dorian Boccolacci, making him handing back the lead more difficult. That maneuver suddenly became irrelevant when Boccolacci tapped Herta into a spin though, the Carlin man somehow managing to recover to third.
 
With Herta now third, Andres and Vaidyanathan were also running well on the pace, in fifth and sixth respectively. Vaidyanathan was looking racy in the final stages of the race and was all over the back of Andres as the duo fought for p5. Their battle allowed RP Motorsport drivers Antoni Ptak and Tatiana Calderon to close in, and before long the fight for p5 turned into a four car battle.
 
While nothing came of Boccolacci being under investigation for the contact with Herta, both Habsburg and Herta closed slightly on the leader in the final stages. In the end though, Boccolacci had just enough pace to take the win, with Herta claiming a strong third place. Andres managed to hold off Vaidyanathan for fifth with the duo making it all three Carlin cars in the top six.
 
The final qualifying session and race of the season will get underway tomorrow.