With a full reverse grid, action was guaranteed. Issac Barashi (Phinsys by Argenti) had started in pole position but a puncture hindered his efforts. Star of the race was Louis Sharp (Rodin Carlin), who converted his back row position 20 into a win, contending with a safety car restart mid-race. Aiden Neate (Fortec Motorsport) finished second, having started 15th, sealed by a great move round the outside of Sonny Smith (Phinsys by Argenti) at Redgate. Third was Smith’s team-mate Jaden Pariat who started from fourth and battled with Neate for much of the race.
The Rookies held their own against the pressure. Rodin Carlin’s Josh Irfan withstood the challenge of Neate for several laps, ultimately repeating his Race 1 result of 7th overall and top Rookie. Fortec’s Gustav Jonsson took second in class, having only competed in karts to date. British Kart Champion Gabriel Stilp (Hitech Pulse-Eight) took another class third, both competing in their first weekend’s car racing.
The Motul Fastest Lap went to Louis Sharp who also gained a very impressive 19 places and takes the maximum 10 championship points for overtakes.
While Race 2 was on a damp track, Race 3 was a full-blown wet affair with rain. Louis Sharp fell foul of water at the first corner when challenging fellow Rodin Carlin driver Noah Lisle for the lead and dropped to the back of the pack, fighting his way back up to sixth at the flag. Lisle extended his lead through the race, ultimately taking first place with a 13.5s margin and the Motul Fastest lap award and associated championship point.
Diona Gowda (Rodin Carlin), Jack Sherwood (Chris Dittmann Racing) and Deagen Fairclough (JHR Developments) had a multi-lap three-way battle for second, the Indian driver coming out on top, with local driver Jack Sherwood taking his first British F4 podium. In the Rookie class, Gabriel Stilp was the class winner with Gustav Jonsson in second and Josh Irfan this time taking third.
Will Macintyre is the Donington Park Round Pirelli Hardest Charger, having gained an impressive total of 18 places in races one and three, nine places in each.
In the standings, Louis Sharp leads the Championship with a total of 59 points, followed by Rodin Carlin team-mates Noah Lisle and Dion Gowda. Josh Irfan leads the Rookie Cup ahead of Gabriel Stilp and Rodin Carlin lead the Teams’ Cup. The Championship now moves to Brands Hatch for the next three races on 6-7 May.
