Podium for young Scottish ace at British Grand Prix venue
Ecurie Ecosse Young Driver Initiative member Ciaran Haggerty enjoyed a positive outing in rounds 10-12 of the BRDC Formula 4 Championship at Silverstone this weekend (May 30/31) after bagging some all-important championship points and a podium finish.
The young Scot put on a promising performance in Saturday’s qualifying session at the Home of British Motor Racing by posting the fourth fastest time behind the wheel of his Graham Brunton Racing-run machine.
That same afternoon Haggerty made a strong start from the second row of the grid, producing a decisive move around the outside of Harrison Newey and Jordan Albert at Stowe corner to move up two places. He then held on to his podium spot in what turned out to be a trouble-free race behind leader and second-year driver Will Palmer.
“That was a great result for me,” enthused the Johnstone resident. “We really needed it after Rockingham, which was a disappointing weekend for us. The race itself felt very long once I’d got into second on lap one, but I just put my head down and tried to catch Will in first. In the end he was just too quick!”
Meanwhile, Sunday proved to be a more challenging affair for the entire field when rain hit the British Grand Prix venue in the morning. The 18-year-old made a good start to Race 2 before a spin dropped him out of the leading pack and right down to 19th. The Ecurie Ecosse-supported driver made a fantastic recovery however, posting the fastest lap of the race en route to 14th and adding some all-important championship points to his tally.
The third and final race of the weekend saw Haggerty start from the second row of the grid after setting the third fastest time in Race 1. A strong start helped him hold on to his grid position before a four-car battle for the final podium place ensued. Indeed, Ciaran led the nose-to-tail group until he was overtaken by Newey and Rodrigo Fonseca. He appeared to be struggling for pace with four laps to go but fought back to secure strong sixth, just 0.550sec behind Albert.
“It was a shame about Race 2,” admitted Ciaran. “But equally, posting the fastest lap was a real confidence boost for me. Cold tyres at the start of Race 3 meant I had quite a bit of understeer to deal with, but ended up with a good result and a decent points haul from the weekend. In general, I’m pretty happy!”
Ciaran and the Graham Brunton Racing squad can now enjoy a short break before the BRDC Formula 4 Championship resumes on July 11/12 at Snetterton. Meanwhile, fellow EEYDI member Adam Mackay is next in Scottish FF1600 action at Knockhill on June 20/21.
