Hitech GP scored a double win in the opening two rounds of the British Formula 4 Championship at Donington Park – ending the weekend with an emphatic 1-2 finish in race two. Both Deagen Fairclough and Mika Abrahams took the victories to cap a brilliant start to the British F4 campaign for the team.
After qualifying fourth on the grid Deagen made a great start to surge into an early lead in race one. The British driver had the measure of the field, leading the first lap by 1.5s and finishing five seconds ahead of the competition by the time the race was brought to a premature halt with a red flag. Before the stoppage, the Hitech GP man had shown impressive pace throughout the 16 laps.
“I’m over the moon,” said race one winner Deagen. “After qualifying I thought we had the pace for P1, but we had to put that to one side and focus on the race. The start was key and we had the traction off the line to lead into Redgate and we came away finishing on the top step which I’m so happy about. The Hitech GP team have done a great job and the support from ROKiT has been awesome.”
Conditions at the Leicestershire circuit were cold and damp for the opening race of the weekend but despite the changeable conditions, Deagen also secured the fastest lap.
“The rain was on and off throughout the whole race,” said the British driver. “You go into a corner and the car suddenly feels different, while next time around you can carry more speed at the same bend. It was a difficult one to be quick in the ever-changing conditions.”
Reza Seewooruthun started sixth (one place ahead of Mika), and finished fifth on the road (he was 14th for race two) while Mika was classified in ninth when the race was halted.
Heavy rain at Donington Park led to flooding and the second round was cancelled on Sunday morning, meaning just the reverse grid event was held later in the afternoon. By the time the race started, the track was dry.
Mika made an amazing start from sixth on the grid and was battling for the top positions in a frantic couple of opening laps. When the Safety Car was deployed, the South African was up to second. At the restart the first two pulled away from the field but a five second time penalty for the leading car meant Mika inherited the victory when the chequered flag appeared.
“Such an amazing feeling, my first win in F4, and the team delivered an amazing car,” said a delighted Mika after the race. “I’m glad I was able to provide a good result for them. It was easy to go off and the leader got a time penalty from it, but I was fortunate to capitalise on his penalty and get the win.”
After his triumph the day before, Deagen continued his good form in race two and drove brilliantly from ninth on the grid to battle his way through the field. In typically fraught and exciting racing that Formula 4 is known for, he impressed, securing the bonus point for fastest lap and despite finishing third on the road, had closed the gap enough to benefit from the time penalty for the leader.
The next round of the British F4 Championship takes place at Brands Hatch in a fortnight’s time.
