A lights-to-flag affair from Ben Hingeley saw the 20-year-old clinch his fourth BRDC British F3 Championship race of the year. He found himself challenged in the closing laps at Donington Park, but held off the pressure for a memorable result.
A classic Enaam Ahmed start almost saw him take the lead into the first corner, but Hingeley was wise to the move, holding him off on the outside and breaking away slightly from the new champion.
Ahmed was chasing a British F3 win record, but with the Fortec Motorsport driver not confirmed for anything in 2018, it was vital that he maintained the advantage. Ahmed would keep him in check as the race went on, staying within a second of Hingeley.
As per usual, the action continued behind, with James Pull making a fantastic start and leaping up to fourth on the opening lap despite his poor qualifying which had left him in eighth. The biggest action would continue just outside the top ten as Alex Quinn attempted to recover from his dire start.
As the time counted down, Ahmed mounted an attack on the leader but to little avail. Hingeley eventually crossed the line for his fourth win of the year, just 0.4seconds ahead.
Cameron Das would complete the podium in third after a typically strong start saw him collect his first silverware since Brands Hatch GP. He was chased home in the latter stages by Pull as Jordan Cane came home for a lonely run to sixth.
Chase Owen had recorded his best qualifying, but fell back at the start, even losing a spot to Cane mid-race. Callan O’Keeffe would chase him home though, once again completing the break away pack. Rounding out the top ten would be Nicolai Kjaergaard, Jamie Chadwick and Manuel Maldonado, who benefited from Quinn’s 5 second penalty.
“It was a good race to win, that was!” Hingeley told TCF. “It was a good qualifying session and the lights-to-flag win is perfect, a good start to the weekend. Ahmed’s a fast one, put me under a lot of pressure through the middle sector, so it got quite close at the end, but I managed to hold on in the end.”
