Tom Jackson and Will Palmer shared a victory apiece today (Sunday) at Snetterton, as changeable weather conditions provided brilliant racing action in rounds 11 and 12 of the 2015 Duo BRDC Formula 4 Championship season.

In the first of Sunday’s races, Tom Jackson used slick tyres in changeable conditions to carve his way through the field to claim his maiden Duo BRDC Formula 4 Championship victory, having started 16th on the grid. Jack Bartholomew used the same tyre strategy to take his first podium finish in the series with third, despite starting from the back row, as he closely followed team-mate Rodrigo Fonseca across the line.

The majority of front-runners played it safe, opting to use wet Pirelli tyres, after early morning rain had made the Snetterton 300 circuit damp. Pole-sitter Akhil Rabindra led the field away but it was Jordan Albert, driving for Sean Walkinshaw Racing, who took the lead on the first lap having started fourth.

Ecurie Ecosse youngster Ciaran Haggerty moved into second and then chased down leader Albert, passing him around the outside heading into Riches. As the cars continued to circulate, a dry line started to appear and those on slick tyres began to set fastest laps, gaining over four seconds per circuit on their wet-tyre shod rivals. By lap five, Jackson was up to 11th and Bartholomew 13th, but they soon began rapidly progressing through the field.

Rodrigo Fonseca overtook Harri Newey and Akhil Rabindra in quick succession before hunting down second-placed man Albert, moving past him with a few laps left in the race. He had the pace to catch leader Ciaran Haggerty and pulled off a move down the inside of the young Scot at Brundle on the penultimate lap.

Further back, Jackson and Bartholomew were cutting their way through the upper reaches of the BRDC Formula 4 field and were within touching distance of the leading trio. Jackson disposed of Albert on lap nine but still had significant work to do on the 10th and final lap. He passed Haggerty early on the final tour and quickly bridged the gap to Fonseca, crawling all over the back of the Lanan Racing car. Bartholomew cleared Albert and then Haggerty too as Fonseca desperately tried to hold off the red-and-yellow car of Jackson; the Maidstone-based racer dramatically slipping through at Nelson.

He completed the final few corners and took the chequered flag 0.893s ahead of Fonseca in second, who managed to fend off team-mate Bartholomew by just 0.160s as the pair crossed the line. Jackson’s win was the second success of the weekend for the Chris Dittmann Racing team, following Omar Ismail’s victory in race one on Saturday. The top-three were presented with their trophies by British GT driver and BRDC member Jonny Adam, who arrived at Snetterton fresh from his British GT triumph at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday (11 July).

Will Palmer took advantage of a great start to claim his fourth win of the season in a wet race three of the weekend at Snetterton. Starting third, the 18-year-old jumped both Harri Newey and Omar Ismail as the lights went out to lead into the first turn, an advantage he wouldn't relinquish. Palmer's HHC Motorsport team-mate Newey took second with Ecurie Ecosse youngster Ciaran Haggerty rounding out the podium in third.

By virtue of his fastest lap in race one, Newey was on pole position but it was his team-mate Palmer who arrived at Riches first. Ismail managed to squeeze past Newey for second with Jordan Albert forced into retirement as a result of contact as he looked to pass the 16-year-old.

Newey quickly regained second spot however by overtaking Ismail, before the Chris Dittmann Racing man spun off at Coram, dropping down to fifth and promoting his team-mate Tom Jackson into the top-three.

After four laps, Newey had closed back up to championship leader Palmer with the gap just 0.726s between the pair. Ciaran Haggerty, starting from 14th, had made his way through the pack in the early stages and was right behind the third-placed car of Jackson, 0.213s the gap at that stage. It didn’t take long for the Ecurie Ecosse Young Driver to pass Jackson through Riches and he assumed third place.

Having fended off the early pressure from Newey, Palmer posted a string of fastest laps to extend the gap and with two laps remaining, his lead was up to 4.017s. Their HHC Motorsport team-mate Sisa Ngebulana suffered a spin whilst in fifth, which promoted the recovering Omar Ismail into the top-five.

Heading on to the final circuit, Palmer led by over six seconds and eventually finished 7.011s clear of runner-up Newey, with Ciaran Haggerty crossing the line 15 seconds later to complete the podium. The Chris Dittmann Racing pairing of Tom Jackson and Omar Ismail finished fourth and fifth respectively.

The top-three were presented with their trophies by ex-Formula One driver and 1982 British Formula Three Champion, Tommy Byrne.

Speaking on the podium, winner Will Palmer said: “It was one of the best starts I have ever made. Coming from third, I just went straight through the middle and into the lead. I came under a little bit of pressure early on and the conditions were absolutely awful out there. I managed to get into a rhythm however and took the win. There are lots of different wet lines around here so I was searching for them to find the extra grip and it seemed to work quite well.”

Palmer’s win means he now holds a lead of 25 points over Fonseca in the overall standings, with Tom Jackson an additional 32 points back in third.Duo BRDC Formula 4 Championship - Snetterton - Round 11

1. Tom Jackson, Chris Dittmann Racing, 10 Laps2. Rodrigo Fonseca, Lanan Racing, +0.893s3. Jack Bartholomew, Lanan Racing, +1.053s4. Ciaran Haggerty, Ecurie Ecosse/GBR, +5.115s5. Jordan Albert, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +7.427s6. Chris Mealin, Lanan Racing, +11.437s7. Omar Ismail, Chris Dittmann Racing, +11.522s8. Jack Lang, Lang Sport/Gorse Motors, +11.754s9. Ameya Vaidyanathan, Hillspeed, +15.950s10. Faisal Al Zubair, Hillspeed, +18.832s11. Michael O’Brien, Chris Dittmann Racing, +19.688s12. Fernando Urrutia, Douglas Motorsport, +23.009s13. Akhil Rabindra, Douglas Motorsport, +27.626s14. Zubair Hoque, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +28.505s15. Harri Newey, HHC Motorsport, +28.607s16. James Reveler, 23 Racing, +32.568s17. Joe Stables, JR Racing, +52.156s18. Will Palmer, HHC Motorsport, +1m05.264sDNF. Sisa Ngebulana, HHC Motorsport, +4 LapsDNF. Marc Gonzalez, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +7 Laps

Duo BRDC Formula 4 Championship - Snetterton - Round 12

1. Will Palmer, HHC Motorsport, 10 Laps2. Harri Newey, HHC Motorsport, +7.011s3. Ciaran Haggerty, Ecurie Ecosse/GBR, +22.483s4. Tom Jackson, Chris Dittmann Racing, +31.991s5. Omar Ismail, Chris Dittmann Racing, +37.267s6. Jack Lang, Lang Sport/Gorse Motors, +50.564s7. Rodrigo Fonseca, Lanan Racing, +54.371s8. Fernando Urrutia, Douglas Motorsport, +1m07.968s9. Sisa Ngebulana, HHC Motorsport, +1m08.873s10. Chris Mealin, Lanan Racing, +1m09.462s11. Jack Bartholomew, Lanan Racing, +1m14.846s12. Akhil Rabindra, Douglas Motorsport, +1m21.723s13. Zubair Hoque, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +1m25.418s14. Faisal Al Zubair, Hillspeed, +1m34.812s15. Michael O'Brien, Chris Dittmann Racing, +1m39.069s16. Ameya Vaidyanathan, Hillspeed, +1m40.460s17. James Reveler, 23 Racing, +1m47.046s18. Marc Gonzalez, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +1m48.505s19. Joe Stables, JR Racing, +1 LapDNF. Jordan Albert, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, 0 Laps 

2015 Duo BRDC Formula 4 Championship standings after race 12 of 24

1. Will Palmer, HHC Motorsport, 260 points2. Rodrigo Fonseca, Lanan Racing, 235 points3. Tom Jackson, Chris Dittmann Racing, 203 points4. Chris Mealin, Lanan Racing, 188 points5. Harri Newey, HHC Motorsport, 187 points6. Jordan Albert, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, 178 points7. Ciaran Haggerty, Ecurie Ecosse/GBR, 175 points8. Jack Bartholomew, Lanan Racing, 171 points9. Michael O'Brien, Chris Dittmann Racing, 130 points10. Zubair Hoque, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, 116 points11. Akhil Rabindra, Douglas Motorsport, 114 points12. Jack Lang, Lang Sport/Gorse Motors, 112 points13. Fernando Urrutia, Douglas Motorsport, 108 points14. Sisa Ngebulana, HHC Motorsport, 106 points15. Ameya Vaidyanathan, Hillspeed, 95 points16. Sebastian Lanzetti, Hillspeed, 89 points17. Omar Ismail, Chris Dittmann Racing, 88 points18. Faisal Al Zubair, Hillspeed, 84 points19. James Reveler, 23 Racing, 67 points20. Hernan Fallas, Mark Godwin Racing, 35 points21. Paul Sieljes, Chris Dittmann Racing, 34 points22. Joe Stables, JR Racing, 14 points23. Marc Gonzalez, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, 13 points

The next rounds of the Duo BRDC F4 Championship take place on 1-2 August on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in Kent.