Ameya Vaidyanathan, Al Faisal Al Zubair and Hernan Fallas each secured a hat-trick of solid points finishes for Hillspeed during the finale of the Duo BRDC Formula 4 Championship season at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit over the weekend, 26th/27th September.
Indian youngster Vaidyanathan, in his first season of racing at any level, concludes his maiden campaign in BRDC F4 as the highest placed of the trio in 12th position in the championship standings and he also departed the Kent track with the best result of ninth in race three on Sunday.
Omani rookie Al Zubair, who has missed six races this year due to his educational commitments, still ended the season 16th in the standings while Argentina’s Fallas, on only his third weekend of action with the Derbyshire team, ends the year in 19th position.
“It’s been a very enjoyable year working with Ameya, Faisal and, latterly, Hernan too and we’re very pleased with the progress all three guys have made under Hillspeed’s guidance”, said team principal Richard Ollerenshaw, “We would have liked to have challenged for the podium again this weekend, but on the Indy Circuit that’s determined by qualifying and we just missed out there unfortunately.
"Had Faisal and Ameya managed to hook their best sector times up on one lap we’d have been looking at them both starting on the first couple of rows, which would obviously have made all the difference. With that in mind, we’ve shown again this weekend how competitive our car is.”
Al Zubair, making a welcome return to action after missing the previous event at Donington Park due to his schooling in Switzerland, posted the ninth fastest time for the round 22 grid – still a great lap less than 0.4 seconds away from pole position.
Although edged back to 10th place on lap two of the opening contest, the Omani rookie remained there to lap 17 when he was unfortunately bundled back to 12th position. Despite being unable to break back into the top 10, at the conclusion on lap 25 the Hillspeed racer was just 0.5 seconds shy in a tightly packed midfield.
Vaidyanathan, who started the race in 13th position having qualified only several hundredths of a second slower than team-mate Al Zubair, climbed into the top 12 at the start and held position until lap 17 when he was able to claim 11th place following the Omani’s slip down the order. At the flag, Vaidyanathan was just 0.3 seconds outside the coveted top 10.
In the third Hillspeed car, Fallas was edged back from 14th position to 16th at the start and spent the majority of the contest there bottled up in the midfield pack. On lap 21, though, the Argentinean managed to break into the top 15.
For round 23, Vaidyanathan and Al Zubair shared the sixth row of the grid with Fallas in 15th place and when the lights went out Al Zubair managed to get ahead of his Indian team-mate, an important move as it turned out with the order remaining unchanged thereafter all the way to the flag.
Fallas, meanwhile, was shuffled back down the order to 19th position on the opening lap but the South American managed to gain two positions back before the chequered flag to repair some of the damage done on lap one.
For the final race of the season on Sunday afternoon, Vaidyanathan lined-up in 10th position and swiftly moved up into ninth where he remained for the entirety of the evenly matched contest, sandwiched between Ciaran Haggerty and Jack Bartholomew.
Al Zubair and Fallas, meanwhile, finished nose-to-tail in 11th and 12th places respectively, both drivers gaining a couple of places on their grid slots. With very little to choose, and with overtaking at an absolute premium, both Hillspeed racers were fairly satisfied with the outcome – Al Zubair in particular as he had to battle a damaged front wing after being tagged on the opening lap.
While the main 2015 season may have reached its conclusion, the racing doesn’t stop there as Hillspeed is now busy preparing for the upcoming BRDC F4 Autumn Trophy which takes place in November. The eight-race ‘mini championship’ will mark the debut of the brand new Tatuus F4-016 chassis, replacing the current car which has been central to the series since its launch in 2013.
Competitors interested in discussing the Autumn Trophy packages offered by Hillspeed should get in touch with team principal Richard Ollerenshaw through the following contact details: Tel: 01433 650400 Mob: 07966 650400 Email: info@hillspeed.co.uk
Final Duo BRDC Formula 4 Championship Driver Standings: 12th Ameya Vaidyanathan, 217pts; 16th Al Faisal Al Zubair, 189pts; 19th Hernan Fallas, 103pts; 20th Sebastian Lanzetti, 89pts
