Hitech score first British F4 win of the year
Round 3 - Snetterton - Report
Hitech TGR’s Fionn McLaughlin secured his maiden British F4 win at Snetterton on Sunday, elevating him to the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings. The Irishman led every lap from pole position in the third and final race of the weekend, winning by a margin of five seconds at a dry and sunny Snetterton.
The Red Bull Junior Driver was delighted with his performance, especially after starting from pole in Saturday’s race but damaging his Hitech machine when he hit a bollard while leading.
“I didn’t do a good job in Race 1 yesterday,” said Fionn. “I was leading by a lot and I made a mistake and broke the front wing.”
Fionn McLaughlin continued:
“So I knew today, starting from pole again, I was really rooting for the victory. In that last one I was really fast and I came away with the win.”
The key was getting a strong start off the grid — and the Irish racer got a perfect getaway.
“The main thing in F4 is getting a good launch, so I did a good start and from there on just drove off. I think every racing driver loves it when you’re on your own and you have a big gap behind, so the stress was low and I just tried to manage the gap and stay calm.”
The weekend began on a high note for Fionn, who clinched the C1RCUIT Watches Pole Position Award around the 2.968-mile circuit. After early morning rain, he secured pole for Race 3 with a 1:48.949s lap, while his second-fastest time — a 1:49.209s — was good enough for pole in Race 1, by just 0.072s.
In the opening race of the weekend, Fionn led away from pole and pulled out a gap of over a second, but after clipping a bollard, he was forced to pit for repairs and lost the lead. In the reverse grid race, he started and finished eighth — taking top honours in the Rookie Cup.
On Saturday, Thomas Bearman also scored a Rookie Cup podium — an impressive result considering he started at the back of the grid. He delivered a series of brilliant overtaking moves, making up as many as ten places on the opening lap. He added two more Rookie Cup podiums over the Snetterton weekend to sit second in the class, one place ahead of his Hitech team-mate Xavier Avramides.
Thomas Bearman:
“I knew I had to make my way through to the points. I wasn’t sure how easy this circuit would be to overtake on, but I managed to get up to P9.”
Thomas continued: “To be honest, I maximised what I could and achieved points, which was great considering how far back I started. The goal is being consistent.”
In the fourth Hitech car, Leo Robinson secured fifth in the reverse grid race on Sunday morning and was running fifth again in the final race, but suffered an issue and dropped down the order.
The next round of the Wera Tools F4 British Championship takes place at Oulton Park in a fortnight.
