Guild Academy’s Henry Moore once again impressed in the third round of the 2024 British F4 Esports Championship from Snetterton, extending his championship lead over Scuderia Ferrari HP Esports Team’s Graham Carroll, taking his first win in the process.
Carroll and Moore were in a three-way fight at the top of the table with Mensah Racing Driven By Us’ Matt Caruana, who would unfortunately be absent from Round 4 at Oulton Park, despite showing impressive early-season form.
While Oulton’s International layout would prove to be a stern challenge for Moore and Carroll, thanks to inclement weather and an unfavourable reverse grid draw for Race 2, but it showcased their talents perfectly, with the pair emerging from the chaos as the championship’s two main protagonists.
Race 1
Moore navigated the foggy qualifying session for Round 4 best of all, taking his second consecutive pole position. Championship nemesis Carroll would line up alongside the rookie for Race 1, just over a tenth-of-a-second behind.
G2 Esports’ Isaac Price was an impressive third, while 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship driver Joseph Loake was a surprise fourth, driving for the Formula 1-affiliated Aston Martin Aramco Esports Team.
The race got underway with Moore heading Carroll, while further back an incident at the Shell Oils hairpin eliminated the unfortunate Giuseppe Lo Faro of AZZ Tech Racing by Grid Finder.
With neither Carroll nor Moore willing to risk their heavy points-scoring positions, the battle for first was a cagey affair, with Carroll’s attempts at overtaking tempered by his reluctance to lose track position to the chasing pack.
With Price falling back, Loake took up the mantle as Carroll’s foremost threat, eventually slotting into second position after Carroll lost momentum after a failed pass on Moore.
Although Loake reeled in the leader, he couldn’t find a way through the assured youngster’s defences and had to settle for second. Carroll consolidated in third, losing more ground to Moore in the championship as a result.
Race 2
The reversed grid draw saw Moore starting from 14th on the grid, which, around the tight confines of the Cheshire circuit, would give Race 2 an element of randomness notwithstanding the heavy rainfall now moving over Little Budworth. Composure would be key here and Moore had already shown plenty of it.
G2 Esports’ Joni Katlia started cleanly from pole position, with Remy Gilbert almost immediately coming to strife on the exit of Turn 1, running wide onto the grass. The Guild driver completed an awful opening lap by spinning at Hislop’s after a clumsy-looking move. Carroll made the most progress of the frontrunners on the first tour, climbing from 12th to eighth.
Further back in 13th, Moore was making tentative progress, which was more than could be said of Loake. The Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver had jumped up to 11th place on the opening lap but undid all his hard work with a high-speed spin at Island Bend, rejoining in 20th.
Up front, Katila was making the most of his unobscured vision to hold the lead, with Guild’s Leo Brown acting as lead chaser, eager to regain his early season form.
Williams Esports’ Beckham Jacir had just made a bold outside overtaking move on Mensah Racing Driven By Us’ Ronnie Smith for third position with five minutes gone, before mysteriously heading for pitlane.
Turning Point
This allowed Carroll’s Ferrari team-mate Gergo Baldi into fourth – but not for long. The Hungarian was tapped into a high-speed spin at Old Hall by a combination of Will Murdoch and Will Chadwick, the pair not helped by the treacherously wet surface.
Chadwick later accepted blame for the incident, having locked up under braking after being squeezed to the outside of the track by Murdoch. The ensuing damage eliminated Baldi and Murdoch from points-scoring contention, with Chadwick able to continue behind Smith.
However, Carroll was now hot on his heels, eager to capitalise on Moore’s midfield placing. It would be Chadwick making moves, though, as he slotted past Smith at the Shell Oils hairpin before pouncing on Brown’s mistake at Old Hall to go second.
Chadwick’s progression continued, as with around five minutes to go he slotted through into first position after Katila made a mistake at Lodge. In his eagerness to make a move on Katila, Brown looped it at Druids, promoting both Smith and Carroll up one position.
Brown spun again, allowing Moore to climb just behind Carroll in the standings, albeit with a five-second deficit. Sensing a chance to eat into Moore’s championship lead, Carroll launched a superb move around the outside of Katila at Cascades, with both cars squirming across the soaking wet asphalt.
The Scotsman emerged ahead on the run to Island Bend, but with only one lap left, there wasn’t enough time to reel in the front two.
Chadwick took the win on the road, with Smith coming home a fine second in his first-ever British F4 Esports event. Carroll was third, with Kitala and Moore finishing fourth and fifth respectively.
However, a post-race penalty for Chadwick elevated Smith to the top step of the podium, with Carroll also benefiting with some extra points. Chadwick still kept his podium finish, albeit after a 5s penalty.
Even though we’re only at the halfway point in the championship, the British Championship laurels appear to be heading in the direction of Henry Moore or Graham Carroll. And with both drivers showing unflappable consistency thus far, the fight is too close to call.
Tune in to the next round from Silverstone’s Grand Prix circuit on the 30th of October
Photos courtesy of – RS Sim Photography
Written by Ross McGregor for Traxion.gg
