Ugo Ugochukwu led home Carlin team-mate Oliver Gray for a 1-2 finish in the final ROKiT F4 British Championship certified by FIA race of the weekend at Knockhill, after points leader Alex Dunne stalled at the start.
The McLaren junior had Dunne for company on the front row for the final contest of the weekend in Fife, but enjoyed a trouble-free run to Duffus Dip on the opening lap after the Irish teenager struggled to get away, then lost his front wing through the opening corners.
That guaranteed him a trip to the pits, and Dunne went a lap down before re-joining. In his absence, his two closest rivals streaked away out front, building a comfortable buffer to third-placed Joseph Loake (JHR Developments).
Ugochukwu had everything under control out front, and Gray was unable to get within a second of his team-mate.
“It was a great race,” beamed Ugochukwu. “We got a good start, then I just put my head down and pushed as much as possible.
“It was a quite straightforward race, I just knew I didn’t need to make any mistakes and the car was working great, credit to the Carlin team. They did an awesome job this weekend and I’m very happy for them.”
“I was so happy with P2 and the pace we had and it’s looking good for the rest of the year,” added Gray. “I think I’m just going to keep this momentum building and building until hopefully the end of the championship.”
With the top two decided, the focus therefore shifted to a thrilling battle for the final spot on the podium, Loake defending valiantly from Kiwi racer Louis Sharp.
Sharp attempted to pressure a mistake out of the race one winner, but Loake held firm to round out his strongest weekend of the season thus far in Britain’s FIA Formula 4 series.
“This week has been a lot better than all the others,” acknowledged Loake. “I’m really happy with how it’s gone, and I think we can be really happy with how we’ve developed the car over the summer break and really improved ourselves, which is nice to see.”
Aiden Neate judged a dive on the inside of Eduardo Coseteng, at the hairpin, to perfection to earn himself fifth spot, despite locking up his front right Pirelli tyre under braking. Stewart once again featured on the Rookie podium in front of his home support, taking seventh outright.
Michael Shin ended Virtuosi Racing’s weekend in the points, the South Korean racer defending valiantly against Dimitrov and Guinchard to secure eighth, the latter duo rounding out the points finishers.
ROKiT British F4 heads next to Snetterton, Norfolk for Rounds 19, 20 and 21 over the weekend of 12-14 August.
To view the full race result, click here.
