The Duo BRDC Formula 4 Championship, the UK’s premier single-seater series, visits Snetterton for the second time this season with rounds 16, 17 and 18 taking place on the 300 circuit this weekend (22/23 August). The British GT Championship will co-headline the meeting alongside BRDC Formula 4 for the fifth time this year.
The action begins on Saturday, with qualifying getting underway at 10:40am to set the grid order for race one at 14:15pm. The reverse-grid race two starts at 10:35am on the Sunday, with the fastest laps from the first two races determining grid order for race three which is due to commence at 15:05pm, and will be screened exclusively live on Motors TV.
It is the BRDC F4 Championship’s second visit to the Norfolk track of 2015, following a dramatic trio of races held on the 300 circuit in July. Chris Dittmann Racing’s Omar Ismail claimed a lights-to-flag victory to take his maiden success in the series before his team-mate Tom Jackson expertly used tyre strategy to charge from 16th on the grid to open his BRDC F4 win account. Will Palmer kept a cool head in the rain to take the final victory of the weekend and all three will be confident of repeating their earlier successes this weekend.
Following a double victory at Brands Hatch last time out, his fifth and sixth wins of the year respectively, Will Palmer has extended his championship lead to 69 points. His closest challenger remains Mexican racer Rodrigo Fonseca who has been a model of consistency this season, scoring points in every race and finishing on the podium six times in 15 races.
Tom Jackson has moved up to third in the championship standings with the second-year driver finishing on the podium three times in the last six races, including his maiden F4 victory at Snetterton. He is being closely pursued by Scottish youngster Ciaran Haggerty, who claimed a double podium at Brands Hatch, and Harri Newey, son of legendary Formula One designer Adrian.
Sean Walkinshaw Racing’s Jordan Albert became a double winner this year with victory in race two at Brands Hatch, to add to his victory at Oulton Park on Easter weekend. He now sits sixth, only one point ahead of early championship leader Chris Mealin, who was denied his third success of the year in Kent due to a time penalty imposed for a jump start.
Mealin’s Lanan Racing team-mate Jack Bartholomew is currently eighth and the 16-year-old claimed his first F4 podium at Snetterton in July so will be confident of a repeat performance this weekend. The aforementioned Omar Ismail is ninth, all the more impressive given that he missed the first two meetings of the year, with Douglas Motorsport’s Fernando Urrutia rounding out the top-10.
Other drivers to watch include HHC Motorsport's Sisa Ngebulana and local racer Jack Lang, who lives in nearby Thetford. With 15 different drivers stepping on to the podium so far this year, the UK’s most competitive junior single-seater series is sure to put on a great show on the 2.97-mile Snetterton 300 circuit this weekend.
Live timing and text updates will be available throughout the weekend on the official Formula 4 website with the regular one-hour long highlights programme available on ITV4 and BT Sport a week after the race meeting.
For more information on the Duo BRDC F4 Championship, visit www.formula4.com.
2015 Duo BRDC Formula 4 Championship standings after race 15 of 24
1. Will Palmer, HHC Motorsport, 348 points2. Rodrigo Fonseca, Lanan Racing, 279 points3. Tom Jackson, Chris Dittmann Racing, 266 points4. Ciaran Haggerty, Ecurie Ecosse/GBR, 243 points5. Harri Newey, HHC Motorsport, 240 points6. Jordan Albert, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, 230 points7. Chris Mealin, Lanan Racing, 229 points8. Jack Bartholomew, Lanan Racing, 202 points9. Omar Ismail, Chris Dittmann Racing, 148 points10. Fernando Urrutia, Douglas Motorsport, 136 points11. Akhil Rabindra, Douglas Motorsport, 135 points=. Zubair Hoque, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, 135 points13. Michael O'Brien, Chris Dittmann Racing, 134 points=. Jack Lang, Lang Sport/Gorse Motors, 134 points15. Sisa Ngebulana, HHC Motorsport, 131 points16. Faisal Al Zubair, Hillspeed, 113 points17. Ameya Vaidyanathan, Hillspeed, 111 points18. Sebastian Lanzetti, Hillspeed, 89 points19. James Reveler, 23 Racing, 86 points20. Hernan Fallas, Mark Godwin Racing, 35 points21. Paul Sieljes, Chris Dittmann Racing, 34 points22. Joe Stables, JR Racing, 30 points23. Marc Gonzalez, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, 13 points
