The Griffin Core by Campos driver bounced back in the third and final race of the weekend to claim a victory that had been taken away from him on Saturday due to a post-race penalty. His teammate Noah Monteiro secured a podium finish in all three races. Ty Fisher, on his debut in the category, also delivered an outstanding performance by claiming two rookie podiums
This Sunday brought the curtain down on the opening round of the 2026 F4 Spain season, the first of seven events scheduled on the calendar, held at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Cheste – a home event for the Alzira-based outfit. Griffin Core by Campos enjoyed an excellent start to the campaign with a victory for Vivek Kanthan – which could have been two – had it not been for a post-race penalty imposed on the American after he had dominated Saturday’s main race from start to finish. Nevertheless, Kanthan, who had secured both pole positions, took his revenge in Sunday’s race.
His teammate Noah Monteiro was another standout performer of the weekend, as the Portuguese driver stepped onto the podium in all three races. Consistency and reliability are undoubtedly key traits of Monteiro. The other Griffin Core by Campos driver, Ty Fisher, also made a strong impression, with the young Canadian ace securing two rookie class podium finishes. As for the Campos Racing drivers, Ireland’s Daniel Kelleher finished in the points in the third and final race. Spain’s Luna Fluxá and Malta’s Jacob Micallef both had strong chances of doing the same on Sunday, but narrowly missed out. More opportunities will certainly come their way.
After free practice sessions in which Kanthan and Monteiro had already demonstrated their strength on Valencian soil, the first qualifying session took place on Saturday morning, setting the grids for both races held later that day. The battle for pole position was decided by mere thousandths of a second, but it ultimately went Kanthan’s way, with a lap of 1:33.815 earning him P1 for Race 1 and the two bonus points awarded for pole. Monteiro was fourth with a 1:33.978 lap, while Fisher also dipped below the 1:34 barrier with a 1:33.989, placing him fifth. Micallef (13th), Kelleher (16th) and Fluxá (23rd) all faced the challenge of climbing through the field.
The first race, held at midday and scheduled for 30 minutes plus one lap, had Kanthan as its undisputed protagonist. When the lights went out, he retained the lead, and only an early safety car intervention – which lasted four laps – prevented him from building a gap sooner. Once racing resumed, the American gradually pulled away at a fastest-lap pace and completed the nineteen scheduled laps with nearly a four-second advantage. However, after the podium ceremony, he was handed a time penalty by the stewards, dropping him down to tenth place. As a result, Monteiro was the Griffin Core by Campos representative on the overall podium, while Fisher finished fourth just behind him. Kelleher crossed the line in twelfth, with Fluxá and Micallef finishing seventeenth and twenty-second respectively.
The second race, lasting 25 minutes plus one lap and with its grid determined by each driver’s second-fastest lap in Q1, saw Kanthan start third ahead of Fisher and Monteiro. At the start, Kanthan made a strong getaway and went side-by-side with Aleix Piñera through several corners. However, contact between the two caused the Griffin Core by Campos driver to spin, leaving him stranded in the middle of the track and subsequently hit hard by two other cars. This incident forced his retirement and brought out the red flags. After a 20-minute stoppage, the race resumed, with Monteiro and Fisher flying the Griffin Core by Campos flag high. After fifteen laps, Monteiro crossed the finish line in third place, just ahead of Fisher. Kelleher finished tenth this time, two places ahead of Fluxá and three ahead of Micallef.
Sunday morning featured the second qualifying session, held on a wet track following overnight rain. The outcome mirrored that of the previous day, with Kanthan taking pole position once again thanks to a 1:47.140 lap, earning another two bonus points. Monteiro was second with a 1:47.313, while Fisher once again impressed with a fifth-place finish thanks to a 1:48.006. Notably, Kelleher and Fluxá secured eighth and ninth places respectively, while Micallef narrowly missed out on the top ten with an eleventh-place finish.
Shortly after midday, the third and final race took place, once again over 30 minutes plus one lap. The track, still slightly damp, made the left-hand side of the grid slower off the line. Kanthan held the lead at the start, while Monteiro dropped to third after defending hard against attacks from Nathan Tye. Fisher ran sixth in the early stages, with Fluxá in eighth. The Spanish driver briefly climbed to sixth before losing control at the rear and ending up in the gravel, triggering a safety car period. This would become a recurring feature of the race, with the safety car deployed three times. Despite this, Kanthan remained in control throughout, even as light rain began to fall. After seventeen laps, he crossed the finish line under the chequered flag as the winner, with a margin of six tenths of a second over Borys Łyżeń. Monteiro once again finished third, while Kelleher recorded his best result on debut with sixth place. Micallef, who had crossed the line in tenth, received a five-second penalty for track limits, dropping him to thirteenth. Fisher was handed an identical penalty, which relegated him to fifteenth.
Following this opening round, Monteiro leaves Valencia second in the championship standings with 43 points, while Kanthan is fourth with 31. Fisher sits sixth with 22 points. In the teams’ standings, Griffin Core by Campos holds second place with 70 points.
The next round of the F4 Spain Championship will take place at Algarve International Circuit on June 6–7.
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