Action-packed Brands Hatch triple-header raises the curtain on 2019 F4 British Championship season

• Rookie puts in a wet-weather masterclass from tenth to win on his debut in Ford EcoBoost-powered series.
• Richardson Racing take their first win, Carlin reach a century of podiums with Zane Maloney.
• Two further races at Brands Hatch this weekend, at 10:00 and 15:35 (ITV4) tomorrow.

Luke Browning stormed to victory from the fifth row of the grid in an action-packed start to the 2019 F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost amid wet conditions at Brands Hatch.

It marked the perfect start to life in Ford’s winning formula for the 16-year old, with Richardson Racing also taking their first win in Britain’s FIA-sanctioned Formula 4 series, in their first race back in the championship no less.

Double R Racing’s Sebastian Alvarez held the early advantage after Carlin’s dream front-row lockout was overturned within moments of the start, the Mexican leapfrogging both Zane Maloney and pole-sitter Joe Turney to seize the lead on the run into Paddock Hill Bend.

Browning’s rise through the order was something of a wet-weather masterclass, with the Kingsley-based racer gaining six positions on the opening tour of the 1.2-mile Indy circuit, before passing Maloney on the outside of Clearways, and then Alvarez with a textbook move to the inside of Druids a few laps later.

He then set about extending his advantage to the chequered flag with a series of quick laps, the eventual margin of victory some 3.7 seconds.

“It’s brilliant, the Richardson Racing car was so good,” enthused Browning.

“We’ve worked on that during the winter, we’ve had more wet days than dry. All this testing and setup work has really come to fruition here which is absolutely awesome! We were doing our rain dance back in the awning.

“It’s great to race with this calibre of people and just to drive in the championship in the first place is absolutely awesome.

“These guys [Richardson Racing] have been absolutely fantastic and I’m struggling to get my words out.”

Maloney recovered from the early setback to claim third – and the Rookie Cup victory – on his debut for Carlin, registering the Farnham-based outfit’s 100^th podium in the Ford EcoBoost-powered series in the process.

Tommy Foster led the line for Arden Motorsport in fourth, emerging victorious from a battle with namesake Louis. Double R racer Foster would eventually take seventh, as first Bart Horsten and then Turney came through into fifth and sixth, the former pulling an incredible move on the brakes into Paddock in the closing laps.

Josh Skelton took eighth for JHR Developments ahead of Carter Williams, the American undoubtedly frustrated after running as high as third in the opening laps before dropping back.

Fortec Motorsport’s Roberto Faria took points on his debut, the Brazilian rounding out the top ten ahead of Mariano Martinez and Reema Juffali, whose race was hampered by a mechanical problem on the opening lap.

• Louis Foster victorious after last-lap clash at Clearways between Browning and Maloney led to judicial action.
• Well-deserved 1-2 finish for Double R Racing after thrilling contest between Foster and Alvarez.
• Pole-sitter Turney manages fourth, but takes the Rookie Cup honours.

A last corner clash between Browning and Maloney at Clearways on the final lap proved to be the talking point of the second F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost race at Brands Hatch, with Louis Foster retrospectively handed a maiden win following judicial action.Prior to that, the Richardson Racing driver made his way through the field in sublime fashion once again, rising to fourth behind Alvarez, Maloney and race-leader Turney in the opening exchanges.

A safety car to recover Horsten’s stricken Arden Motorsport machine at Clearways bunched the field up, with a mistake by Turney at the restart, skating wide through the gravel on the exit of Paddock Hill Bend, handing team-mate and Rookie Cup points leader Maloney the lead on the run up Hailwoods Hill.

Browning also capitalised on Turney’s misfortune, dispatching him for third at Paddock on the following lap before setting off after Maloney, some 1.9 seconds further up the road.

That gap reduced incrementally over the following nine laps around the 1.2-mile Indy circuit, with the pair virtually inseparable heading onto the final lap.

Contact was made heading into the final corner at Clearways as Browning looked to the inside, with Maloney pitched into a spin and facing the wrong way on the exit of the gravel trap.

Browning continued unaffected to take the chequered flag and extend his lead in the Drivers’ standings to 17 points, before judicial action took the win away and reduced that advantage.

Louis Foster came out on top of a thrilling dice with Double R Racing team-mate Sebastian Alvarez for what became the de-facto win – his first in the Ford EcoBoost-powered series on his debut weekend.

The battle, which culminated in minor damage to Foster’s front-wing after slight contact at the final corner on one occasion, simmered down as the race wore on, the pair split by 2.3 seconds at the flag to earn a well-deserved 1-2 finish for the reigning champions.

Turney ended a rollercoaster of a race in fourth behind the demoted Browning, his consolation a first victory in the Rookie Cup stakes, with Fortec Motorsport’s Roberto Faria a strong fifth.

Maloney eventually made it out of the gravel to cross the line seventh, with Williams surging forward late race to take a weekend-best sixth.

Martinez was eighth, with Juffali scoring her first points in Ford’s winning formula behind in ninth. Tommy Foster rounded out the top ten in the surviving Arden car, a credible result via the pit lane after an early-race brush with the barrier at Surtees.

Skelton was forced into retirement at half-distance after contact with Turney at Druids, with Horsten the other DNF after sliding off line at Clearways dipping the left-rear tyre on the white painted lines and spinning before coming to rest beached in the gravel.

• Mexican racer claims maiden British F4 win in final race at Brands Hatch.
• Maloney triumphant again in the Rookie Cup stakes.
• Championship heads next to Donington Park over the weekend of 27^th-28^th

Sebastian Alvarez claimed victory in the final F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost race at Brands Hatch, holding off Carlin’s Zane Maloney in a race-long fight.

It marks the Double R Racing driver’s first victory in the Ford EcoBoost-powered category, completing a near-perfect weekend in which the Mexican racer stood on the podium in every race across the triple-header in Kent, and leaves with the championship lead.

The start proved crucial, with Alvarez holding the lead from pole position whilst Maloney and JHR’s Carter Williams squabbled over second, the American initially taking the place at Paddock Hill Bend before being forced to concede on the exit of Druids after Maloney got the switchback.

From thereon in, it was a game of cat-and-mouse at the front, with Alvarez and Maloney separated by a mere half a second for the majority of the race distance, cancelling one another out with different strengths over the course of the 1.2-mile lap.

Alvarez would extend his lead slightly in the closing exchanges, crossing the line 1.1 seconds clear to underline his title credentials for the season ahead.

“It’s definitely been a good weekend and it’s really nice to get my first win,” commented Alvarez.

“You can see from this result that all the winter preparation we’ve done with Double R Racing has paid off and we’ll keep working hard.

“The track was quite slippery and really abrasive on the tyres, at the end I was struggling a lot but I think everybody was.

“A big thank you to the team for all their work this weekend, now we go to Donington Park aiming to be just as competitive.”

Maloney was forced to settle for second behind Alvarez, though will be happy with another triumph in the Rookie Cup category.

Williams would eventually finish third, though he equally faced a stern test from race two winner Louis Foster, the second Double R machine thrilling television viewers nationwide with ITV Sport’s live, on-board camera as the pair diced over the final spot on the podium.

Tommy Foster bounced back from a frustrating middle race to score solid points in fifth as the leading Arden Motorsport car, with team-mate Bart Horsten behind after fending off Luke Browning to claim sixth and seventh respectively.

Fortec Motorsport’s Roberto Faria ended his first weekend in Ford’s winning formula in eighth after a late-race move on Carlin’s Joe Turney, who took ninth.

Mariano Martinez rounded out the points-paying positions in tenth for Fortec, with Reema Juffali eleventh.

Josh Skelton’s misfortune continued, the JHR racer finishing a lap down after a repeat of his race two contact with Turney at Druids left him in need of a trip to the pits for a replacement front wing.

Fastest lap: Maloney, 54.246s (80.16mph)
Rookie Cup: 1 Maloney, 2 Turney, 3 Faria.

Round 2 / 22 laps
1 / Louis FOSTER / GBR / Double R Racing / 20m14.316s (78.79mph)
2 / Sebastian ALVAREZ / MEX / Double R Racing / +2.368s
3 / Luke BROWNING / GBR / Richardson Racing / +5.359s
4 / Joe TURNEY / GBR / Carlin / +5.749s
5 / Roberto FARIA / BRA / Fortec Motorsport / +6.495s
6 / Carter WILLIAMS / USA / JHR Developments / +6.778s
7 / Zane MALONEY / BRB / Carlin / +14.425s
8 / Mariano MARTINEZ / MEX / Fortec Motorsport / +24.743s
9 / Reema JUFFALI / SAU / Double R Racing / +24.897s
10 / Tommy FOSTER / GBR / Arden Motorsport / +1 lap

Fastest lap: Browning, 51.158s (85.00mph)
Rookie Cup: 1 Turney, 2 Faria, 3 Maloney.

Round 3 / 26 laps
1 / Sebastian ALVAREZ / MEX / Double R Racing / 20m31.169s (91.83mph)
2 / Zane MALONEY / BRB / Carlin / +1.104s
3 / Carter WILLIAMS / USA / JHR Developments / +4.271s
4 / Louis FOSTER / GBR / Double R Racing / +4.667s
5 / Tommy FOSTER / GBR / Arden Motorsport / +8.804s
6 / Bart HORSTEN / AUS / Arden Motorsport / +13.091s
7 / Luke BROWNING / GBR / Richardson Racing / +13.224s
8 / Roberto FARIA / BRA / Fortec Motorsport / +17.293s
9 / Joe TURNEY / GBR / Carlin / +22.614s
10 / Mariano MARTINEZ / MEX / Fortec Motorsport / +22.851s

Fastest lap: Alvarez, 46.667s (93.18mph)
Rookie Cup: 1 Maloney, 2 Faria, 3 Turney.

Provisional Championship Standings (after Round 3/30)

1 / Sebastian Alvarez / MEX / Double R Racing / 61 pts
2 / Luke BROWNING / GBR / Richardson Racing / 46 pts
3 / Louis FOSTER / GBR / Double R Racing / 43 pts
4 / Zane MALONEY / BRB / Carlin / 39 pts
5 / Carter WILLIAMS / USA / JHR Developments / 25 pts
6 / Tommy FOSTER / GBR / Arden Motorsport / 23 pts
7 / Joe TURNEY / GBR / Carlin / 22 pts
8 / Bart HORSTEN / AUS / Arden Motorsport / 18 pts
9 / Roberto FARIA / BRA / Fortec Motorsport / 15 pts
10 / Mariano MARTINEZ / MEX / Fortec Motorsport / 5 pts

Rookie Cup Standings (after Round 3/30)

1 / Zane MALONEY / BRB / Carlin / 65 pts
2 / Joe TURNEY / GBR / Carlin / 58 pts
3 / Roberto FARIA / BRA / Fortec Motorsport / 51 pts

Teams Cup Standings (after Round 3/30)

1 / Double R Racing / 104 pts
2 / Carlin / 61 pts
3 / Richardson Racing / 46 pts
4 / Arden Motorsport / 42 pts
5 / JHR Developments / 29 pts
6 / Fortec Motorsport / 20 pts