Herta ends season with victory in Barcelona

Colton Herta

Carlin's first season in EuroFormula Open ended with a victory today, thanks to Colton Herta who crossed the line in Barcelona to take his fourth win of the season. The 16 year-old started from second place, claimed the lead from Leonardo Pulcini and withstood intense pressure from Ferdinand Habsburg to cross the line first. Team mates Keyvan Andres and Ameya Vaidyanathan endured tough ends to their season after strong results yesterday. Andres retired with an engine problem, while Vaidyanathan ended his race in the gravel after contact from another car.

As the EuroFormula Open lights went out for the final time in 2016, Herta made a good start from his second placed grid slot, but it was newly crowned champion Pulcini that was fastest off the line from third, passing both Herta and pole man Ferdinand Habsburg to take the lead. Herta made the most of his first lap opportunities though, passing Habsburg to claim second and slot in behind Pulcini.

Andres meanwhile had made up one position and was running in eighth place, while Vaidyanathan remained 12th. Andres did well to defend over the opening laps, the German had his mirrors full of Vasilliy Romanov, but was managing to hold position.

Andres' race was soon to come to an abrupt halt though; the Carlin man suffered a race stopping engine issue on lap four and in a double negative, the oil dropped from his car sent team mate Vaidyanathan off into the gravel following contact from another sliding car.

Herta salutes the American flag as the USA National Anthem plays

Herta meanwhile was still second, but suddenly claimed the lead from Pulcini on lap four, as Habsburg closed in behind. Now fighting for the lead, the fight between Herta and Habsburg was as tense as the previous day, with less than a second separating the two for the majority of the race. As the leaders fought, Pulcini was able to close back in, and was running in a close third.

Despite the pressure from behind, Herta drove faultlessly and extended the gap ever so slightly from Habsburg. As the checkered flag was shown, Herta had done enough to end his season with well fought victory and seal his third place in the championship standings.

Race winner Herta said, "We've had such a strong weekend again here. To win today on top of a P2 yesterday is great and I'm so thankful to Carlin for all the work and giving me a great car. Four wins, six podiums and five pole positions; we've come on so strong at the end of the year. It's great to see the progress we've made."

Trevor Carlin added, "The team and drivers have done a fantastic job to make the progress they have throughout the season. We finish 2016 as a front running team in EuroFormula Open and claiming four wins in the last four events is a testament not only to the team, but the progress that Colton has made as a driver. All three drivers finishing in the top six yesterday shows what a strong car we have, and we're already working hard to continue this level of progress for 2017."