Palmer is 2015 F4 champion with Pirelli
Will Palmer has scored his ninth and 10th wins of the season to secure the 2015 Duo BRDC Formula 4 Championship – for which Pirelli is the sole tyre supplier.
Palmer’s HHC Motorsport team-mate Harri Newey took his maiden win in the first of three races at Donington Park last weekend, following a frantic qualifying session on a drying track that saw the 17-year-old make best use of his Pirelli slick tyres. Newey then led the race from start to finish, while Palmer fought back from a disappointing opening lap to claim second ahead of Ameya Vaidyanathan (Hillspeed) in third.
Palmer put his title beyond dubt with victory in races two and three on Sunday. He again sliced through the field in race two to claim the lead ahead of rookie sensation Jack Bartholomew (Lanan Racing) with Vaidyanathan scooping another third-place finish. His fastest lap from the first two races then put Palmer on pole for race three and, despite two safety car periods, he held on to that advantage to win from Rodrigo Fonseca (Lanan) and Newey.
“It’s amazing after a year of hard work to finally take the crown,” said Palmer, “and it is even better to do it in style, and a round early too.” Palmer has an unassailable 109-point lead over Newey with Tom Jackson (Chris Dittmann Racing) a further nine points behind in third heading to the final round at Brands Hatch on September 26/27.
Championship battle closes up in Pirelli-backed Porsches
The battle for the Fuel Protect Porsche Club Championship with Pirelli will go down to the wire following victories for Mike Johnson and Kevin Harrison at Oulton Park last weekend – and a rare retirement for defending champion Pete Morris.
Morris’s weekend got off to a bright start on a damp track with the drivers relying on Pirelli wet tyres and Strasse man Morris setting pole. But he lost the lead to Craig Wilkins (996 C2) at the start of race one before crashing out. Thereafter Johnson, in another 996 C2, pressured Wilkins before finally taking the lead, with Chris Dyer (Cayman S) demoting Harrison (996 C2) on the final lap to take third. Jonathan Evans (Boxster S) took the Class Two win in sixth overall despite a late slide ahead of the similar car of Steve Cheetham.
On a dry track Wilkins soon led race two from Harrison, with Johnson and Mark McAleer (996 C2) passing front-row starter Morris on lap three. After a tight battle Harrison got ahead for his first outright victory ahead of Johnson, McAleer and Morris, with Wilkins dropping to sixth due to a power problem. Cheetham passed early leader Evans for the Class Two win in eighth overall.
The final round of the series takes place at Croft in North Yorkshire on September 26.
Vandierendonck edges ahead in Dutch Supercars with Pirelli
Series leader Nicolas Vandierendonck came from thrid on the grid to claim two more wins as the Pirelli-supported Dutch Supercar Challenge visited Brands Hatch last weekend for its ‘Dutch on Tour’ races.
Vandierendonck, who was paired with Archie Hamilton in his Shipex SRT Racing Corvette ZR1 for this event, won the first of two races on the Grand Prix loop ahead of Super GT rival Henry Zumbrink (Volvo Reede Racing by Day-V-Tec Volvo S60) and title rivals Roger Grouwels/Kelvin Snoeks (Team RaceArt Dodge Viper GT3-R), who slipped from pole to third in the race.
Vandierendonck/Hamilton then repeated their race one result in race two, with Kevin Clarke (ING Sport BMW Z4) climbing from sixth on the grid to take second and GTB winners and class leaders Patrick Lamster/Donald Molenaar (Euroseal/EMG Motorsport Porsche 997) rising from 11th to finish an impressive third. Polesitters Grouwels and Snoeks, meanwhile, could only manage fifth in Super GT after a clash with Max Koebolt’s Volvo S60.
Elsewhere in GTB the race one win went to guest pairing Paul McKay/John Bradshaw (In2Racing Porsche 991 GT3 Cup), although Supercar regular Ward Sluys (JR Motorsport BMW M4 Silhouette) scored maximum points.
The penultimate round of the series, for which Pirelli is the sole tyre supplier from its logistics hub in Didcot, Oxfordshire, is the Racing Festival Spa at the famous Belgian circuit on October 2-4.Consistent Steele seals title success in Pirelli-supported F3
Aaron Steele claimed the Pirelli-supported MSVR F3 Cup title in an action-packed season finale on Silverstone’s Grand Prix circuit last weekend.
Champion-elect Steele and his rivals were unable to knock guest driver Zach Claman de Melo (Carlin) from the top spot, with the Canadian winning all three races on the track. However, given he is not registered for points, there was still plenty to play for with Hywel Lloyd (CF Racing) claiming maximum points for second in race one ahead of the battling Louis Hamilton-Smith (Jigsaw Motorsport) and Grays Motorsport driver Steele.
When Lloyd retired with mechanical woes in race two, Steele took up the top scoring spot in second behind Claman de Melo and, in a refettled car, pulled away from Hamilton-Smith and Stuart Wiltshire (Chris Dittmann Racing) in third and fourth.
Steele made a small error in race three that allowed Hamilton-Smith up to second behind Claman de Melo for the points win, while Lloyd charged from the back of the grid to eventually pass Steele for third. Nevertheless the consistent Steele was champion, with the teams’ title going to Chris Dittmann Racing.
The organisers thanked Pirelli for its support this year while revealing that planning for the 2016 season is already underway.Coming up next time: The first British Superbike Showdown contest from Assen; Power Maxed MINI racing from Donington Park
