BRDC Formula 4 2015 - Donington Park

14/09/2015

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With three Duo BRDC Formula 4 races still to be run at Brands Hatch later this month, Comma-sponsored Will Palmer comprehensively re-wrote the championship record books with his ninth and tenth victories of the 2015 season at Donington Park, Leicestershire on the weekend of September 12/13th.

Finishing second to his HHC Racing team-mate Harri Newey - who claimed his long awaited first Formula 4 victory - in Saturday's Race 1, Palmer battled his way from seventh on the reverse order grid in Sundays Race 2 to take the win by nearly 9 seconds over Lanan Racing's Jack Bartholemew. Later in the afternoon, 18 year old Palmer from Southwater, West Sussex then safely navigated safety car interventions to complete a lights-to-flag domination and handsomely wrap up the 2015 championship in Race 3. With 89 points from the weekend (out of a possible 95 maximum), Palmer took his total to a new championship record of 507 for the season.....and with those three races at Brands Hatch still to come on September 26/27th.

"I am delighted," said a jubilant Palmer. "It's amazing after a year of hard work to finally take the crown, and it is even better to do it in style. Getting my 10th win sums up my season as it has been amazing, especially since Silverstone. I am absolutely delighted that we've been able to be as dominant as we have been this year."
With Palmer safely out of his rivals' reach, the spotlight at Brands Hatch will now focus on the championship's minor placings. Newey's maiden F4 win - bolstered by a fifth place finish in Race 2 and a return to the Donington podium with third place in Race 3 – has moved him up to second place, narrowly ahead of Chris Dittmann Racing's Tom Jackson whose weekend yielded only ninth place in Race 1 and seventh in Race 2. The ever improving Ciaran Haggerty – Écurie Ecosse/GB Racing – is still yet to win a race, but fourth place in Races 1 & 2 and fifth in Race 3 elevated from fifth to fourth in the table, 32 points behind Newey and just 23 points shy of Jackson. The championship bid of Lanan Racing's Rodrigo Fonseca has drifted somewhat since mid-season, but with a top ten finish in Race 2 and second place podium in Race 3, the Mexican can still be in the title top three mix at Brands Hatch despite slipping from fourth to fifth, 12 points behind Haggerty.

Jordan Albert – 34 points behind Fonseca - remains sixth, having claimed seventh in Race 1, eighth in Race 2 and ninth in Race 3 at Donington for Sean Walkinshaw Racing. Chris Mealin – Lanan Racing - has dropped from seventh to eighth behind team-mate Jack Bartholemew, who took an excellent second place podium - his best result of the year - in Race 2 to add to his sixth place in Race 1 and eighth in Race 3 at Donington. Omar Ismail – Chris Dittmann Racing – with strong top ten results of fifth in Race 1 and, sixth in Races 2 & 3 at Donington remains ninth in the table, while LangSport Racing's Jack Lang continues to hold on to the final place in the championship top ten. Hillspeed's Ameya Vaidynathan - now in eleventh place in the table just 3 points behind Lang - merits special mention for his spirited Donington performances with podium finishes for third place in Races 1 & 2, plus seventh in Race 3.

Comma is Technical Partner to BRDC Formula 4, and in addition to sponsoring the 2015 Duo BRDC Formula 4 champion Will Palmer in the 24 race series, supplies Comma brand lubricants, coolants and maintenance chemicals to all teams competing in the championship. Visit the excellent BRDC Formula 4 website at www.formula4.com to keep up with full results, race reports, information and features about the championship.