Pichon Writes His First Winning Chapter at Zandvoort
Romain Pichon brought the Lotus 49 home first after a long three-car contest and a decisive late change at the head of the race. Florian Masse took second in the Honda, moving to the top of the Championship table, while Flashor completed the podium.
A race in formation
There were 23 starters for the 46 laps at Zandvoort, and the race found its principal rhythm only after the early running had settled. From lap 22 through lap 38, Pichon, Masse and gilvil77 formed the enduring central group, never separated by more than five seconds across seventeen successive laps. It was a contest of proximity and patience rather than a procession, with the Lotus, Honda and Ferrari held together through the middle portion of the afternoon.
That spell gave the event its shape. Pichon was not merely present in the leading argument: he was part of a compact trio which kept its order and its tensions alive over a substantial distance. Masse, already prominent in the Championship before Zandvoort, was similarly never far from the issue. gilvil77 supplied the third element of the contest, though his Ferrari was ultimately classified 11th after completing 45 laps.
Behind them, the field had its own changes of fortune, but the leading group remained the natural focus until the race entered its last phase.
The late turn
The final alteration came very late indeed. Simone Porcu had been ahead of Pichon until the close of lap 44, but Pichon moved in front during lap 45. With only the final circuit still to run, the Frenchman had placed himself where he needed to be.
Pichon completed all 46 laps to take the victory in his Lotus 49. Masse also reached the flag after the full distance, second in the Honda RA300, while Flashor's Lotus 49 came home third. Alex Senna's Ferrari 312 and Max Solmyr's McLaren M5A followed in fourth and fifth, with the latter pair completing the full race distance.
Porcu, whose quickest lap of 1:18.708 was just four thousandths quicker than Flashor's best, was classified 14th after completing 45 laps. The late loss of the lead thus did more than deny him the immediate prize; it changed the emphasis of the Championship afternoon.
A first victory of consequence
For Pichon, this was more than a first success in the present Championship. It was his first recorded race victory in the THR archive, a distinction earned at the end of a race in which he had spent much of the middle distance in close company and then found the decisive advantage when it mattered.
The result also gave his Championship account a marked lift. Pichon rises from 25th before Zandvoort to 16th afterwards on 40 points. Masse's second place carries greater immediate weight at the front of the table: he now stands first with 77 points, ten clear of Porcu on 67. The dropped-score rule remains part of the season's arithmetic, but the present position is plain enough - Masse has converted a difficult, closely contested race into a useful advantage.
Flashor's third place also brought him to 60 points and sixth in the standings, adding another established name to the group within reach of the leaders as the Championship moves beyond its fourth event.
Stevenson's long return
One of the quieter achievements belonged to Nat Stevenson. An incident on lap two dropped the Eagle T1G driver from 11th to 21st, a heavy loss at a stage when the race was still crowded and unsettled. Stevenson was again delayed by an incident on lap 10, yet continued to make his way forward.
By the end he had completed all 46 laps and reached the flag in sixth place. It was a recovery measured not by one dramatic moment but by sustained progress through a field whose order was repeatedly disturbed in the opening stages. Torbjörn Bloom's McLaren followed Stevenson home in seventh, with Richard Rossier eighth and pitman ninth, all completing the full distance.
Zandvoort therefore produced two distinct rewards: Pichon's long-awaited first win at the front, and Stevenson's determined salvage operation further back.
The record will show Pichon as the winner, but the broader significance lies in the distribution of the result. A new name has joined the list of THR victors, while Masse has turned second place into leadership of a Championship which still has ample room for further alteration.