McLaughlin takes his fourth win of the year
Round 7 - Knockhill - Report
Hitech TGR’s Fionn McLaughlin claimed his fourth British F4 victory of the season at Knockhill last weekend, with team-mate Thomas Bearman completing a one-two finish. Bearman also secured his first pole position of the year and rounded off the event with another second place.
Fionn leaves Scotland with a 40.5-point championship lead, though his weekend ended in disappointment after accidental contact in the final race with his nearest title rival damaged his right-front wheel. Meanwhile Hitech team-mate Xavier Avramides enjoyed a strong end to the weekend with a seventh-place finish in Race 3.
The weekend began strongly for Hitech as Thomas took his maiden C1RCUIT Watches Pole Position Award — by just 0.061s, with an average speed of 94.48mph. His second-best lap also placed him on the front row for Race 1, but off the line he was passed by Fionn on the run to the first corner.
Running second and third, the pair inherited the one-two after the leader on the road was adjudged to have jumped the start. An initial five-second penalty was later increased to ten seconds in the final classification, giving Hitech the top two steps on the podium. Fionn also picked up an extra point for the Lotus Fastest Lap, alongside another Rookie Cup win.
Fionn McLaughlin:
“Everything felt good in the car and, coming away with the win, I feel very happy. Obviously we didn’t win it on the road, but for a penalty in front. It’s another good haul of points and helps extend our championship lead.”
Thomas Bearman:
“Fionn got me into Turn 1 and it was an exciting battle, but there isn’t much chance for overtaking around here. I knew the start was going to be crucial, but it was unfortunate for me. The rest of the race was tyre management as there was a lot of degradation.”
In the reverse-grid race on Sunday morning, Thomas ran wide at Turn 1 at the start. He recovered but was then collected by another car a corner later, which brought out the Safety Car. After finishing tenth in Race 2, Fionn started fourth for the finale and gained a place off the line. Unfortunately, Thomas was slow away from pole and lost the lead immediately. He remained comfortably ahead of Fionn, who was defending hard from the pack, before the Irishman’s incident ended his race.
Thomas continued:
“This is a track where you need to start on pole, and I had that opportunity. I knew I had a good chance of winning, but I messed up the start a little bit. That’s my fault and something I need to work on. Otherwise, I drove well, the balance was okay, and overall it was a good race and good points. Going into this weekend I’d have definitely taken a pole and two P2s.”
Debutant Joseph Smith left Knockhill with a best result of 15th in Race 3, while Fionn departs Scotland leading the championship by 40.5 points and Hitech hold an 80.5-point advantage in the Teams’ Standings heading into Donington Park in a fortnight’s time.
