Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Deagen Fairclough extended his advantage at the summit of the ROKiT British F4 Championship certified by FIA standings in race one at Knockhill, as he claimed a commanding lights-to-flag victory ahead of Alex Ninovic (Rodin Motorsport) and Martin Molnar (Virtuosi Racing).
On what proved to be a wheel-perfect day around the Scottish circuit, Fairclough kicked off proceedings by clinching his third C1RCUIT Watches Pole Position Award of the season, before going on to convert it into an eighth win of the year.
In addition to his charge onto the top step of the podium, Fairclough also picked up the Motul Fastest Lap Award to secure a clean sweep of the day’s accolades.
Drama ensued shortly after the lights went out as, on the way to Duffus Dip, contact between Fortec’s Kai Daryanani and Ella Lloyd (JHR Developments) resulted in Lloyd rolling into the gravel, which in-turn brought out the red flag. Thankfully Lloyd was able to walk unhurt from the incident.
On the restart, front row starter Rowan Campbell-Pilling (Phinsys by Argenti) powered his way into the lead, however his joy was to be short-lived as officials quickly deemed that he had in fact jumped the start and subsequently handed him a ten-second time penalty.
Despite not needing to overtake Campbell-Pilling to claim victory, Fairclough remained a permanent fixture in the mirrors of the rookie driver and on lap seven he made a decisive move to wrestle the lead from him at Taylor’s Hairpin.
Once out front, Fairclough didn’t look back and he pulled clear to triumph, while Campbell-Pilling produced a superlative display to hold onto second on the road; however he would ultimately be relegated to eighth once his time penalty was applied.
Ninovic – who sits second in the points – inherited runner-up plaudits after making a fast start to jump Molnar off the line. Despite both of their best efforts, neither driver could ultimately overhaul Campbell-Pilling on the road over the course of the contest.
After scoring a breakthrough podium last time out at Zandvoort, Molnar’s second successive British F4 rostrum finish also meant that he secured top honours in the Rookie Cup.
Despite incurring damage in the initial start, impressive teamwork by Hitech Pulse-Eight to repair Seewooruthun’s car allowed him to make the restart and he repaid their efforts with a charging drive to fourth, finishing narrowly ahead of Rodin Motorsport’s duo of Jack Sherwood and Abbi Pulling.
Sherwood and Pulling had provided plenty of entertainment for those in attendance as they diced for fifth and sixth respectively, while Leo Robinson (JHR Developments) shadowed them to the chequered flag in seventh.
With Campbell-Pilling now in eighth, Bart Harrison (Chris Dittmann Racing) and Yuanpu Cui (Phinsys by Argenti) completed the top ten.
Races two and three of the ROKiT British F4 Championship certified by FIA at Knockhill are scheduled to take place at 10:55 and 15:55 on Sunday, with both races forming part of ITV4’s free-to-air coverage.
