Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Deagen Fairclough achieved a record in-season 12th race in the 2024 ROKiT British F4 Championship Certified by the FIA, today at Silverstone. This afternoon’s win in Race three, means Fairclough has broken the record for the most race wins in a single season, a record previously held by 2022 champion, Alex Dunne.
The field lined up for Sunday’s reverse top 12 race, which saw Thomas Bearman (Hitech Pulse-Eight) start from Pole Position in what was only his second British F4 start. Reza Seewooruthun (Hitech Pulse-Eight) and Leo Robinson started from second and third, with Matus Ryba (Phinsys by Argenti) in fourth.
After a start line stall which caused a red-flag and a subsequent race start, poor weather and visibility caused the race to be red-flagged and initially postponed and subsequently cancelled for the day.
The third race of the weekend went ahead as scheduled, starting once again in wet conditions. A start behind the safety car saw provisional champion Deagen Fairclough head of the field behind the Safety Car. Rodin Motorsport’s James Higgins and Alex Ninovic were in second and third, followed by Martin Molnar (Virtuosi Racing), Zack Scoular (Xcel Motorsport) and Jack Sherwood (Rodin Motorsport) in fifth.
Following the Safety Car’s withdrawal, Fairclough led the field into turn one, with the Rodin Motorsport teammates chasing closely behind. The pair would go on to battle for the podium positions early in the race, trading places multiple times.
The Safety Car was again dispatched after Alex Ninovic and Matus Ryba (Phinsys by Argenti) both found the gravel trap in separate incidents.
After a brief intervention to recover the two cars, the lights went out with nine minutes left on the clock. The running order saw Fairclough head Higgins and Molnar, who had moved up into third.
A battling pack was forming with Zack Scoular, Jack Sherwood and Gustav Jonsson (Chris Dittmann Racing) all menacing one another with a view to spoiling the party for the top three runners.
A train of cars from tenth back to 19th had drivers navigating wet racing lines to press forward in the order, making exciting racing and benefitting from the improving conditions. Fortec Motorsports drivers Nina Gademan and Alex Berg were fighting hard with one another, each with the aim to secure a top ten finish.
At the chequered flag, Deagen Fairclough crossed the line with just over a six-second lead ahead of James Higgins in second with Rookie Cup driver Martin Molnar in third, now a regular main podium driver. Jack Sherwood finished in fourth followed by Zack Scoular and Reza Seewooruthun (Hitech Pulse Eight).
JHR Developments driver Harri Reynolds built on his Race 1 British F4 experience to ultimately secure another great result in seventh, on his debut weekend in the championship.
Martin Molnar added to his tally of Rookie Cup wins, with Zack Scoular making his return to the podium in second. Yuhao Fu finished in third after a season-best drive, moving forward 11 places from his starting position to finish tenth overall.
Fortec Motorsport’s Kai Daryanani was awarded the weekend’s Pirelli Hardest Charger Award for the most overtakes across Races 1 and 3, earning a set of Pirelli P-Zero tyres for testing.
The Motul Fastest Lap Award was secured by Deagen Fairclough, earning him an extra point for setting the fastest lap in Race 3.
The Teams’ Cup also goes to the final round of the season with Hitech Pulse-Eight leading Rodin Motorsport rivals by 31.5 points.
The tenth and final round of the ROKIT British F4 Championship will be held at Brands Hatch on the GP circuit configuration in just two weeks on 5-6 October with Sunday’s action to be broadcast live on ITV4.
