2023 Ananico Grand Prix

2023 Ananico Grand Prix
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Race details
Date	25 June 2023 (2023-06-25)
Location	Ananico National Circuit, Ananico, Jade, Zamastan
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.318 km (2.683 miles)
Distance	71 laps, 306.452 km (190.420 miles)
Weather	Sunny
Podium
First	Miles Kingston
Second	Erik Björnsson
Third	Tobias Mechter

The 2023 Ananico Grand Prix was a Formula motor race held on June 25th, 2023 at the Ananico National Circuit, a street circuit that runs through Ananico, Jade, Zamastan. The principle race of Crown Formula, it was the 56th time the Ananico Grand Prix was held. It was the third race in the 2023 Crown Formula World Championship. The race became infamous for the many spinouts and crashes that occured, including the accident during the last lap which resulted in the deaths of Zamastanian driver Arnaud Crozier and Parabocan driver Ronaldo Javi Batista. Miles Kingston of Unified Sera won the race, having narrowly avoided the last lap crash. Officials and race organizers of Crown Formula were heavily scrutinized for their decision to carry on the race instead of postponing it after heavy rain had preceeded the race and made the track prone to hydroplaning.

Drivers

Qualifying classification

Pos.	No.	Driver	Country	Sponsor	Final grid
						1	51	Arnaud Crozier	Zamastan	ZSuites & Foresster	1
2	97	Ronaldo Javi Batista	Paraboca	Poldero	2
3	12	Micael Dantas	Quetana	Quetana Airways	3
4	99	Hiroši Coyabaši	Zoygaria	Lumia	4
5	4	Timothee Snowden	Zamastan	Pegassi	5
6	66	Tobias Mechter	Besmenia	Besmenian Airways	6
7	72	Lukas Haag	Greater Normark	Northgas	7
8	27	Miles Kingston	Unified Sera	Pegasus MC	8
9	19	Erik Björnsson	Vœyetska	Laouron Energi	9
10	26	Davi Alves Ruis	Bentho	Bara	10
11	6	Adje Sokken	Shoassau	Banobia	11
12	8	Bjoren Djurna	Caspiaa	Cavitale	12
13	14	Alex Spalding	Jyau	Forebel Bleu	13
14	7	Mikkal Podzbrad IV	Drambenburg	Maarlboru AG	14
15	80	Morten Aandahl	Saint Offeat	NWOOC	15
16	44	Józef Kubica	Sprotavia	Wokulski Group	16
17	32	Bartolo Da Rocha	Vitosium	Selmor	17
18	13	Dmitry Manturov	Kossmil	KTC	18
19	38	Rudy Silander	Artegana	TricioMedio	19
20	25	Harrison Thompson	Beatavic	Snelle Auto	20

Race

Race report

Crozier's car flips during the fatal crash. Ronaldo Javi Batista's car can be seen in the righthand side moments before it also crashed.

Weather conditions were less than ideal, as a torrential downpour prior to the race made the track noticably slippery for drivers. An early 5th lap spinout and crash by Hiroši Coyabaši drew warnings from some race officials, but the determination to continue the race was made. With only minor spinouts occuring throughout the rest of the race, it came down to a five-way challenge for first between Crozier, Batista, Thompson, Spalding, and Kingston, with several drivers close behind. However, the 10th turn, second to last before the final stretch, proved to be disasterous as Batista's car lost control and appeared to hydroplane into Crozier, who in turn smashed into Thompson, Spalding, and Silander.

Going at a speed of 305 km/h (190 mph), Batista's car began to slip and could not take the turn at the left corner, and, continuing in a straight line, collided with Crozier. Batista's car smashed into the side wall, killing him instantly, and Crozier' car collided with Thompson before it was flipped twice, smashing through a tire barricade and into the concrete barrier. Harrison Thompson, Alex Spalding, and Rudy Silander's spinouts resulted in sufficient damage to their cars as well, and all suffered minor injuries with the most serious being a broken arm for Thompson and a contusion for Silander. Drivers directly behind the crash were able to avoid the damage and continued, but anyone more than a half lap behind were stopped. Miles Kingston, the Unified Sera driver, managed to avoid the crash and sped on to the finish, only discovering the horror that he narrowly avoided after he stopped and exited his car, cutting his celebration short with visible shock and tears. In the press conference following the race, Kingston said "I can't feel satisfied, I can't feel happy" with his win following the events that had occurred during the race weekend.

At 2:23 pm local time, a red flag was shown to indicate the race was stopped and race doctors arrived at the scene to treat the drivers. When a race is stopped under a red flag, cars must slow down and make their way back to the pit lane or starting grid unless notified of a restart. This protects race marshals and medical staff at the crash scene, and allows easier access for medical cars to the incident. After seeing the accident scene, IMA President Viktor Bunyachenko was so distressed that he left from the race.

Since the crash had finished on the final lap, the race was concluded, and the participating drivers agreed to perform an honorary lap to commemorate Crozier and Batista. Miles Kingston's number 27 car led the somber procession, with a Zamastanian and Parabocan flag drapped on the hood as the vehicles slowly made their way around the course.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Country	Sponsor	Final grid
						1	51	Arnaud Crozier	Zamastan	ZSuites & Foresster	DNF - Fatal accident
2	97	Ronaldo Javi Batista	Paraboca	Poldero	DNF - Fatal accident
3	12	Micael Dantas	Quetana	Quetana Airways	14
4	99	Hiroši Coyabaši	Zoygaria	Lumia	DNF
5	4	Timothee Snowden	Zamastan	Pegassi	6
6	66	Tobias Mechter	Besmenia	Besmenian Airways	3
7	72	Lukas Haag	Greater Normark	Northgas	4
8	27	Miles Kingston	Unified Sera	Pegasus MC	1
9	19	Erik Björnsson	Vœyetska	Laouron Energi	2
10	26	Davi Alves Ruis	Bentho	Bara	12
11	6	Adje Sokken	Shoassau	Banobia	13
12	8	Bjoren Djurna	Caspiaa	Cavitale	7
13	14	Alex Spalding	Jyau	Forebel Bleu	DNF
14	7	Mikkal Podzbrad IV	Drambenburg	Maarlboru AG	5
15	80	Morten Aandahl	Saint Offeat	NWOOC	11
16	44	Józef Kubica	Sprotavia	Wokulski Group	8
17	32	Bartolo Da Rocha	Vitosium	Selmor	10
18	13	Dmitry Manturov	Kossmil	KTC	9
19	38	Rudy Silander	Artegana	TricioMedio	DNF
20	25	Harrison Thompson	Beatavic	Snell Auto	DNF

Post-race

The Crown Formula organization released a statement of condolences, with the Zamastanian chapter organizer saying "these racers distinguished themselves every day for the world to see, and today is the greatest loss in formula history." The organization also said that it would be conducting an extensive investigation into the accident, and that the upcoming 2023 Calatas Grand Prix in Paraboca would be postponed for a few days for both safety reviews and out of respect for the late Parabocan driver.

The other Zamastanian driver on the course, Timothee Snowden, said of Crozier "he was the greatest racer I've ever gone up against, and I'm certain that my comrades would say the same. He was the epitome of greatness on the track, taking his wins in pride, taking his losses in stride, and always striving for better."

Caspiaa's Bjoren Djurna, the winner of the 2021 Championship who famously beat Crozier in a narrow finish at the Rio Palito Grand Prix that year, said of both drivers "Arnaud and Ronaldo were friendly, competitive souls and I am honored to have spent time with both of them on and off the race track. Today's just, it's horrible. It's horrible. It's a loss for their families, for the racing community. The sad irony of Crozier having lost his life here in Zamastan, Ronaldo having done so a week before Calatas, it's fateful. It's horrible fate. We'll miss these guys a lot."