Tommy Harfield produced a masterful performance to claim his first-ever win in the Wera Tools F4 British Championship certified by FIA at Donington Park, becoming the 12th different race winner of the season in the process
The Chris Dittmann Racing driver started the weekend’s opening contest from pole position and proceeded to not put a wheel wrong as he soaked up relentless pressure from title combatants Fionn McLaughlin (Hitech TGR) and Martin Molnár (Virtuosi Racing) to triumph.
McLaughlin’s late move on Molnár ensured that he was able to increase his advantage at the top of the Drivers’ Championship even further, with his lead now standing at 44.5 points ahead of tomorrow’s two remaining races around the East Midlands circuit.
Saturday’s track action began in spectacular fashion as series debutant Dries van Langendonck (Rodin Motorsport) celebrated his birthday by sweeping aside the opposition in Qualifying to claim the C1RCUIT Watches Pole Position Award.
It was a captivating Qualifying session, with 10 changes of fastest time as Molnár, McLaughlin and Harfield traded times before the McLaren Development Driver laid down a marker no other could better toward the end of the session.
Harfield – who is now no longer permitted to compete for Challenge Cup honours due to this being his eighth event of the campaign – emerged as the nearest challenger to the Belgian teenager whilst Molnár, McLaughlin and Ary Bansal (Fortec Motorsport) completed the top-five.As always, second-fastest lap times determined the starting order for race one, and that placed Harfield on pole position with van Langendonck joining him on the front row in second place – although things would change immediately as the lights went out.
While Harfield was able to power into the race lead, van Langendonck sadly stalled and dropped to the rear of the field; and credit must be given to the rest of the grid for being able to avoid his stricken machine as he valiantly battled to overcome his initial inertia.
Up at the sharp end, Harfield led the field down the Craner Curves, but he had no time to relax as Molnár was looming large in his mirrors, while a rapid start from McLaughlin saw him go from fifth to third within a handful of corners.
It wasn’t long before the top three soon broke away from the chasing pack, with Harfield maintaining a slender margin over Molnár and McLaughlin. Behind them, Thomas Bearman (Hitech TGR) and Bansal had everyone captivated as they battled for fourth and fifth.
Going wheel-to-wheel as the race headed towards mid-distance, Bearman frustratingly became the first to hit trouble as he limped back to the pit lane with a puncture. Then just a few laps later, Bansal would also be forced into the pit lane to rectify an issue with his car.
They weren’t the only drivers to find themselves in strife either as the trio of Chase Fernandez (Xcel Motorsport), Henry Mercier (Argenti Motorsport) and Rowan Campbell-Pilling (JHR Developments) all had to make unscheduled stops, with Campbell-Pilling becoming the race’s only retirement.
Meanwhile, Harfield drove with a cool head to hold off Molnár and McLaughlin, and in the end he was able to claim a maiden win for both himself and Chris Dittmann Racing.
Harfield’s victory was all but assured come the penultimate lap as, after sizing him up for a majority of the race, McLaughlin snatched second place away from Molnár, as he completed a bold move down at Redgate.
The Red Bull Junior – who also scooped Rookie Cup honours and the Lotus Fastest Lap – went on to snare runners-up laurels with Molnár having to settle for third place.
Jimmy Piszcyk (Rodin Motorsport) banked more solid points in fourth as he headed August Raber (Argenti Motorsport), Henry Joslyn (Fortec Motorsport), Adam Al Azhari (Rodin Motorsport) and Ethan Jeff-Hall (Argenti Motorsport), the latter receiving a time penalty for track limit offences.
Completing the top ten was series returnee Oleksandr Savinkov (Virtuosi Racing) and Rookie Cole Hewetson (Xcel Motorsport), another driver that was hit by a five-second time penalty for an alleged start procedure misdemeanour.
Outside the top ten, Thomas Ingram-Hill (Fortec Motorsport) scooped honours in the Challenge Cup and Arjen Kräling (Argenti Motorsport) completed the Rookie podium, whilst van Langendonck delivered a standout drive by producing a spirited fightback to battle back into 14th.
Races two and three of the Wera Tools F4 British Championship certified by FIA at Donington Park are scheduled to take place at 09:15 and 13:15 respectively on Sunday. UK viewers can tune into ITV4 and ITVX’s free-to-air coverage that commences at 10:45 BST, while both contests will also be streamed live on the championship’s YouTube channel for those watching outside the UK.