Fionn clinches Rookie Cup title honours
Round 8 - Donington Park - Report
After securing his 13th class win of the year, Hitech TGR’s Fionn McLaughlin wrapped up the Rookie Cup championship at Donington Park, with an unassailable 151.5-point advantage over his team-mate Thomas Bearman. The Red Bull Junior Team driver also claimed an outright podium at the weekend to slightly extend his overall British F4 points lead, with just six races remaining.
The Irishman finished second in Race 1 after making strong progress on the opening lap from fifth on the grid. He ran third for most of Saturday’s contest before delivering a superb late-race move for second at Redgate on the penultimate lap. However, after contact with another car at the Melbourne Hairpin in Race 2, he was handed a five-place grid penalty for the final race of the weekend. Starting ninth, Fionn kept out of trouble to finish fifth — and seal that all-important Rookie Cup crown.
Fionn McLaughlin said:
“It’s a great way to end the weekend, but with the penalty going into that race I was on the back foot — then I got front wing damage at the start. So it was a very tough race for me. But I managed to come away with P5 and win the Rookie Cup.”
As for the overall title fight, Fionn leaves Donington Park with a 35.5-point lead, with the next round taking place on Silverstone’s National circuit in three weeks’ time and that remains his ultimate goal.
Fionn continued:
“We’ll keep working towards that championship win. We’re doing a good job as a team to build that points lead, working hard, and now we have two weekends off to reset before we come back to Silverstone. There are six races left, we’ll see what happens. I’ll continue to push and keep doing a good job.”
Second to Fionn in the Rookie Cup standings is Thomas, who picked up third in class in Race 2 (fifth overall). The Hitech man endured a frustrating weekend otherwise, with 24th and 20th in the other two outings at Donington Park. Despite that, the Chelmsford-based racer relished the racing on the historic Grand Prix layout.
Thomas Bearman said:
“This is probably the best track I’ve driven on for overtaking. It’s really important to maximise qualifying here — it’s not as crucial as some other circuits, but you still need to be quick throughout the race. ”
Thomas continued: “During Race 2, I applied a lot of pressure to the guys in front and it was a good fight. There was a lot of battling at the start, which was a lot of fun, and the conditions were tricky with some damp patches early on, but it all added to the challenge.”
Thomas added:
“As the season has gone on, I think my consistency has improved. But I’m still making a couple of rookie mistakes that I probably shouldn’t be making at this level. That’s what’s stopped me from getting consistent podiums. Still, it’s great to get those points in the bag and set things up nicely for the final two outings of the year.”
Australian Xavier Avramides left Donington Park with a best result of 12th, while rookie Joseph Smith endured a dramatic incident at the chicane in Race 3, which cost him his front wing and he was forced to retire. His best result was 13th (in Race 1).
In the Teams’ standings, Hitech continue to lead the way with a 399.5 point tally.
