April 28, 2025

 

Rouven Meschede captured his first Superlights victory in a race filled with drama, heartbreak, and standout performances, as Optiminal scored a dominant 1-2 finish.
Qualifying was a tense affair, with Rouven Meschede pulling out a sensational last-lap effort to snatch pole position from David Fidock by a tenth and a half. Returning to the series after a late call-up by Lunarc, Fidock had looked rapid throughout practice and qualifying, despite his time away. Luke Mitchell for Kings Racing impressed with third, while the True North pairing of Norbert Jakab and Jan Dragoun locked out the second row.

The race start was relatively clean. Meschede held the lead into Turn 1, while Fidock and Mitchell jostled for position behind. However, early drama struck hard: Fidock, after slipping to third, suffered a bizarre and catastrophic crash a few laps later, losing both his front and rear wings after clipping the wall, a brutal blow on his highly anticipated return.

Meanwhile, a formation lap incident caused major confusion as several key names, including championship leader Jose Soriano and Matias Canapino, who were sent to the pit lane. Later reports suggested server issues were to blame.

Up front, Meschede managed his race superbly. Despite pressure from Luke Mitchell early on and later from teammate Joseph Hurlock, the German stayed composed through traffic and pit stop phases. True North's strategy misstep cost Jakab dearly, releasing Dragoun into clear air to secure a strong third place.

Luke Mitchell, after looking like a serious contender in the opening stages, faded slightly following a two-stop strategy call that left him battling with the True Norths late on. Maxime Beaulieu of Fusion and Tom Satherley of Brehm GP were the major gainers, capitalising on attrition and clever strategies to finish sixth and seventh respectively. Beaulieu in particular drove excellently and narrowly missed out on the podium in the closing stages.

Further down the field, Mike Kwint made headlines with a storming drive from 28th on the grid to eighth, salvaging some pride for Lunarc after Fidock's misfortune, after Kwint had crashed in qualifying. The reigning FS1 champion is not having the best start to Superlights this season.

The story of the day was undoubtedly the faultless performance from Rouven Meschede. After missing the first two rounds, Meschede is now a serious force in the championship, just as the season hits full stride.