The F4 British Championship – certified by FIA powered by Ford headed to Knockhill in Fife, Scotland for Races 22-24 of the 2018 Championship.
Patrik Pasma headed the Arden quartet in Qualifying, setting the 2nd fastest time just ahead of Red Bull Junior teammate Jack Doohan. Sebastian Priaulx putting his Arden car in 5th position, one ahead of Dennis Hauger to complete the Arden line-up.
In terms of ‘Second-best’ laptimes, the four Arden drivers would line up in the exact same positions for the third and final race of the weekend.
Race 1 saw Pasma and Doohan get away well, but unable to challenge Johnathon Hoggard for the lead into Turn 1 – so the pair folded back into position. These two would duel it out for the remainder of the race in close contention, with Pasma just taking 2nd place from Doohan - who would complete the podium.
Priaulx maintained 5th position throughout the race, splitting two of the championship contenders Kiern Jewiss and Ayrton Simmons in the process. Red Bull Junior Hauger had a difficult start which dropped him a place behind Simmons, he held onto 7th position to the chequered flag to bank more crucial points for him and the team.
The second race of the weekend took place Sunday morning in horrendous wet conditions. The start was eventful, as a Safety Car was deployed early on for a collision which eliminated two contenders early on. Hauger was then really unfortunate on the restart to be collected by a spinning Hoggard, which damaged Hauger’s car and forced him to pit for repairs.
After another two Safety Car periods, the race finally got into some motion as Pasma made a move up the inside of Jewiss at ‘Clarks’ corner. Doohan went to follow his teammate through, but Jewiss slammed the door shut and contact between the two, caused the Red Bull Junior to spin and fall to the back of the field.
Hauger recovered well to latch onto the back of Jewiss in the closing stages, finishing just 0.4s behind in 5th position at the chequered flag. Priaulx ran a very solid race to score a strong 2nd position, with Pasma making it two Arden’s on the podium with a 3rd place finish. Doohan managed to recover to 9th to gain points in his Rookie and Main Championship battle.
The third and final race of the weekend saw a repeat of the first race at the start, as Pasma slotted into 2nd behind Hoggard who led from pole position. Pasma wasn’t quite able to get close enough to challenge for the win, but bagged another 2nd place finish – banking his third podium of the weekend in a strong and consistent showing once again. Patrik gained 51 points over the weekend, scoring the most of any driver during the weekend.
Hauger had an adventurous race, after he was forced to take avoiding action through the gravel at the start of the race – the Norwegian Red Bull Junior recovered to a fine 4th at the chequered flag.
Doohan and Priaulx both made strong starts, before small contact between the two sent them spinning early on. Doohan managed to recover to a strong 6th, but Priaulx was beached in the gravel and forced to be recovered onto the track during a Safety Car period. The Guernsey man managed to recover to 11th, just missing out on points in the championship.
As we approach the final two weekends of the season, Hauger remains the lead Arden driver in the championship standings in 3rd overall on 283 points. Doohan is 4th with 259 points, Pasma has moved into 5th with 239 points and Priaulx sits 8th in the standings on 214 points.
The penultimate round of the F4 British Championship takes place at Silverstone, on the National Circuit on the 15-16 September, with the championship then rounding out the season at Brands Hatch on the 29-30 September just a fortnight later.