This weekend the ROKiT F4 British Championship certified by FIA returns to Donington Park for the second time this year. Back in April, the opening round of the 2023 season was held on the National Circuit configuration, however for the penultimate round it will be 2.4-mile-long GP Circuit that will be used.
With only seven races left of the 2023 British F4 championship it is Norfolk’s William Macintyre (Hitech Pulse-Eight) who has extended his championship lead over Louis Sharp (Rodin Carlin), as their nip and tuck battle throughout the year has been hotly contested. Macintyre now holds a 20 points advantage, having secured a race win and a second place at Knockhill Circuit in Scotland the last time out.
British F4 has never previously used Donington Park’s GP track, however F4’s budding Formula 1 drivers will be alert to the heritage of the track in Formula 1 folklore, the venue having hosted the 1993 European Grand Prix. The event was memorable for Ayton Senna’s dominant display in the wet, winning the race by over one minute from Damon Hill, having advanced from fifth to first in the opening lap.
With Macintyre and Sharp pulling away with the championship fight, eleven points separate Rodin Carlin’s Dion Gowda and JHR Developments’ Deagen Fairclough for third in the standings after both drivers picked up race wins at Knockhill. Gowda becoming the third driver this season to pass the 200-point mark.
This visit to Donington unusually provides British F4 drivers with four rather than three races, as a void race from earlier in the season at Snetterton will be added to a packed itinerary. With qualifying crucial to the weekend’s success, expect another barnstorming Qualifying session as drivers battle for the highly coveted Omologato Pole Position Award and the accompanying Omologato watch prize.
The Team’s Cup is the closest of all the championships, with only four points separating Rodin Carlin’s 520 points and Hitech Pulse-Eight’s 516 points. Qualifying for Donington starts at 1025hrs on Saturday morning with two races on Saturday (1350hrs and 1700hrs) and a further two races on Sunday (1055hrs and 1600hrs). For the opportunity to meet the stars of British F4, some of whom could soon become household names (there are three graduates of the series on the F1 grid this season), join the F4 autograph session at the F4 Race Centre in the F4 paddock at 1330hrs on Sunday 27 August.
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