F4 British Championship

Florescu back on top with his second win of the Weekend

2 Mins read

Romanian driver Petru Florescu ended the Brands Hatch weekend on a high as he collected his second win after a strong race saw him maintain the lead from lights to flag. The victory means that he ends the weekend as the MSA Formula Championship leader.

A double pole ensured that he had the advantage going into the first corner with TRS Arden‘s Luis Leeds, lining up alongside him. Leeds had the best start of the two, but the Carlin driver was wise to the attack and kept the Australian on the outside into Graham Hill bend.

James Pull took the opportunity to challenge for second but was unable to get past as the top three broke away, with Florescu struggling to hold Leeds in the early stages.

Behind them, Rafa Martins managed to settle into fourth as he soon found himself under pressure from Alex Quinn, who managed to improve from his disastrous get away on Saturday. Max Fewtrell joined the fight as the Carlin driver clearly had more speed than his rivals in front.

Despite a strong Saturday, Jamie Caroline wasn’t able to repeat his impressive drive after an early move on Fewtrell saw him out-brake himself into Paddock Hill, running into the gravel and dropping out of the points. He recovered, but only enough for thirteenth at the finish.

Qualifying hadn’t been his strong suit this weekend, but Sennan Fielding proved to be the driver to watch as the race progressed. He quickly deposed of Devlin DeFrancesco in the early stages before catching the battle for fourth lead by Martins.

After spending most of the race being stuck behind Fewtrell, the JHR Developments driver was last of the late breakers into Paddock Hill managing to keep the car on the track with only 3 minutes to go. Unfortunately for Fielding, he would later be found to have jumped the start. His 20 second penalty saw him demoted to 14th.

Despite a lack of pressure in the second half of the race, Pull was eventually given a five second time penalty as he consistently ran all four wheels off the track at Paddock Hill. Fortunately for the Carlin driver, the battle for fourth allowed him to build up a 6 second gap, retaining his position on track.

No-one could match Florescu in the second half of the race as Leeds fell back in the closing stages, despite setting the fastest lap. Pull completed the podium as Martins sustained the race long pressure to claim a vital fourth place for the Arden driver.

Quinn eventually crossed the line in fifth, ensuring that he finished all three races as top rookie at Brands Hatch. Fewtrell, DeFrancesco and Zane Goddard rounded out the top eight with the Canadian managing to defend the four car train.

Florescu leaves the weekend with 50 points, the championship lead and a five point gap to team mate Pull. Meanwhile, the unlucky Fielding splits the Carlin domination, with 35 points, 1 in front of fourth placed Fewtrell and three in front of Leeds.

Brands Hatch Race 3 Results

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Credit: Nick Smith / TheImageTeam.com
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