Full steam ahead for Hugh Barter with another French F4 victory

Hugh Barter has taken his fourth victory of the 2022 French Formula 4 series after a lights-to-flag sprint at Magny-Cours.

Hugh Barter in the French Formula 4 paddock at Magny-Cours. (FFSA)

Barter earnt a double-pole for the French F4 weekend, with P1 for race one and race three in qualifying on Friday.

The Japanese-Australian sped away from the start in race one, surviving a brief challenge from Elliott Vayron who stuck with Barter to finish second at the flag.

Behind them, a spirited battle for third emerged between Dario Cabanelas and Lorens Lecertua, with championship front-runner Souta Arao keeping a watching brief behind them.

The battle between Cabanelas and Lecertua gave the leading pair breathing space at the front, with the final podium position swapping hands multiple times throughout the race before it eventually came to blows.

The pair collided in the late stages of the race, with Arao's persistence paying off, promoted to third as the wounded drivers lost track position.

Barter leads the series on 135 points over Arao on 88 points, but the Aussie needs to continue building his lead as he will miss two rounds due to a dual-F4 campaign.

The reverse-grid second race of the Magny-Cours weekend starts at 2.25am Sunday morning (AEST) before race three at 5.00pm Sunday