Matty Graham and Hughes claim Sunday race wins on Brands Hatch GP circuit
Lanan Racings Jake Hughes is the new name at the top of the BRDC F4 Championship standings, after adding a win in race three to his two earlier fourth places secured this weekend.
Making amends for his last lap misfortune yesterday, the 18-year-old from Water Orton, Warwickshire didnt look back yesterday, claiming fourth in race two and then dominating race three from pole position, to take a 16 point lead to the next rounds on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in three weeks time.
Making a great start, he held a lead of over three seconds by the end of lap two, and was able to ease off towards the end of the race to take a comfortable win. Mexican Diego Menchaca, driving for Mark Godwin Racing, secured his first podium in European competition with second place, while Sean Walkinshaw Racings Matty Graham claimed his second podium of the weekend with third.
Earlier in the day, Graham became the 10th different race winner in F4 after claiming his maiden car race victory during race two. Starting from second on the grid, the 17-year-old from Edmundbyers, Country Durham, passed pole sitter Raoul Hyman into Paddock Hill Bend on lap two to take the lead, eventually taking the flag 2.3 seconds clear of SWR team mate and Brands Hatch local Jack Barlow, with Hyman third for HHC Motorsport.
"I'd had just the one podium up to this weekend and so come away with two Im pretty pleased with, I couldnt really ask for more Graham commented afterwards.
"I've had my fair share of bad luck in this season so hopefully I can now look at getting some more podiums and some more wins and get higher up in the championship."
Speaking at the end of the weekend, championship leader Hughes enthused: "This feels amazing. After yesterday and losing it on the last lap, this makes up for it! I'm happy with my weekend, I've secured a lot of points.
"The plan in the first few laps was to get my head down and get a gap. I don't know if something happened, but the gap went up from one second to three and a half in one lap. But I was always going to take that and it made the race a bit more comfortable in the end.
"There are 90 points on offer each weekend so it's not going to be straightforward to keep the championship lead. Hopefully I can keep this now and we'll do our best to make sure that happens."
Yesterday, Mark Godwin Racings Pietro Fittipaldi followed in his grandfathers footsteps by claiming his first European racing success in race one, from Morris and Charlie Robertson.
The championship now has a very different outlook, with Hughes now 16 points clear with Hillspeeds Seb Morris in second place. Pre-event championship leader, Mark Godwin Racings Jake Dalton, had a difficult weekend but nonetheless claimed three valuable points finishes across the three races and now sits third in the standings. Jack Barlow rises to fourth for SWR after three strong results, with Charlie Robertson fifth for HHC Motorsport. Matt Bell is sixth for Douglas Team E-Lites while Matty Graham was the big mover after his stellar weekend, climbing to seventh.
BRDC F4 Championship, Round 14 result, Brands Hatch GP:
1. Matty Graham, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, 14 laps2. Jack Barlow, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +2.365s3. Raoul Hyman, HHC Motorsport, +4.811s4. Jake Hughes, Lanan Racing, +5.131s5. Jake Dalton, Mark Godwin Racing, +5.372s6. Seb Morris, Hillspeed, +5.830s7. Ross Gunn, Motionsport, +6.147s8. Pietro Fittipaldi, Mark Godwin Racing, +6.319s9. Struan Moore, Hillspeed, +11.234s10. Diego Menchaca, Mark Godwin Racing, +12.285s
BRDC F4 Championship, Round 15 result, Brands Hatch GP:
1. Jake Hughes, Lanan Racing, 14 laps2. Diego Menchaca, Mark Godwin Racing, +1.910s3. Matty Graham, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +3.112s4. Seb Morris, Hillspeed, +5.247s5. James Fletcher, Team KBS, +5.704s6. Jack Barlow, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +6.214s7. Gustavo Lima, HHC Motorsport, +6.848s8. Luke Williams, Chris Dittmann Racing, +21.646s9. James Greenway, Privateer, +21.899s10. Raoul Hyman, HHC Motorsport, +22.336s
BRDC F4 Championship standings:
1.Jake Hughes, Lanan Racing, 272 pts2. Seb Morris, Hillspeed, 256 pts3. Jake Dalton, Mark Godwin Racing, 249 pts4. Jack Barlow, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, 239 pts5. Charlie Robertson, HHC Motorsport, 214 pts6. Matt Bell, Douglas Team E-Lites, 208 pts7. Matty Graham, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, 204 pts8. Raoul Hyman, HHC Motorsport, 189 pts9. Ross Gunn, Motionsport, 186 pts10. James Fletcher, Team KBS, 173 pts
The BRDC F4 Championship is next back in action on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit on 17-18 August for rounds 16, 17 and 18 of the series.
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