Louis Foster seizes the advantage after thrilling Donington Park triple-header

• Foster and Double R victorious in British F4 classic at Donington Park.
• Result hands Ginetta Junior graduate the championship lead after problems for Sebastian Alvarez.
• First podium for Bart Horsten, Joe Turney takes the Rookie Cup spoils.

Louis Foster recovered from an early setback to win a thrilling F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost opener at Donington Park, with his second victory of the campaign giving the Double R racer the championship lead.

He defended well from team-mate and erstwhile points leader Sebastian Alvarez into the first corner at Redgate, before JHR Developments’ Josh Skelton sensationally seized the advantage after diving down the inside of a superb four-wide battle one lap later.

Foster, relegated to fourth behind Alvarez and the fast-starting Carlin machine of Zane Maloney, was given an opportunity to chase down the leader after the latter pair made contact into Redgate, sending the Mexican into a spin and dropping him to the back of the pack, whilst Maloney continued in third behind Foster.

Skelton, who had quietly built up a comfortable 2.3-second margin in the melee, was then forced to go defensive as Double R’s Foster cut into his advantage lap-on-lap, eventually re-taking the lead with scarcely over five minutes left on the clock.

He duly took the chequered flag by 0.9 seconds after being kept honest on the final few tours of the 1.8-mile Leicestershire circuit to become the first repeat winner in Ford’s winning formula in 2019, and as a result moves 5 points clear of Alvarez at the top of the standings.

“I got through the chicane [on the first lap] in the lead and then had a bit of an issue with oversteer,” explained Foster.

“That allowed everyone to catch up with. I couldn’t do anything about it – I couldn’t block – so I just had to sit there. They were all around left, right and centre, I just had to get round the corner and hope for the best. I was so annoyed because I went from first to fifth or sixth in one straight, which was just the worst of bad luck that a small mistake cost me that much.

“But I got past a few, then two crashed in front of me and the hunt for Josh [Skelton] was on, and I knew I had the pace over him so I just pushed, and pushed and pushed and caught him in the end. I’m over the moon with the result.”

If the battle for top spot was a box-office classic, then the contest for the final spot on the podium proved equally as captivating.

Initially it was Arden Motorsport’s Tommy Foster in the prime spot, with the second Carlin machine of Joe Turney cutting his way through from the fourth row to challenge team-mate Zane Maloney for fourth – and the lead in the Rookie Cup stakes.

That battle ended in less-than-ideal fashion, with Maloney spinning on the exit of Robert’s Chicane towards the tyre wall, but able to rejoin with minimal damage to the front wing, albeit at the foot of the points-paying positions. Turney, meanwhile, set about deposing Foster.

The two ran side-by-side through Redgate, Hollywood and the Craners Curves a few laps later, that conflict ending in a half-spin for Foster on the exit of the Old Hairpin.

It would be far from simple for Turney from thereon in, with Australian Bart Horsten charging through to seize third, from which he would never be bettered, his first podium in British F4.

Turney would hold on to fourth – and his second Rookie Cup win of the campaign to take the points lead in that regard – with the final Arden car of Alex Connor recovering from wheelspin at the start to round out the top five on his competitive debut in the category.

Roberto Faria worked his way through the drama to lead the line for Fortec Motorsport in sixth, with JHR’s Carter Williams seventh behind.

Eighth place was the subject of much dispute and eventually went the way of Maloney after a fightback, but he was made to work for the position after some stellar defending from Fortec’s Mariano Martinez.

The Mexican would eventually take eleventh, with a battle-scarred Alvarez and recovering Tommy Foster rounding out the top ten ahead.

Reema Juffali rounded out the finishers in twelfth, with Luke Browning absent for the majority of the contest, but did take to the track in the closing moments to complete a lap – as a result, he is not classified.

• Australian racer takes first victory in Ford EcoBoost-powered series in reverse-grid thriller at Donington Park.
• Turney takes second successive Rookie Cup triumph and nearly claimed Ford Rookie Award for Carlin.
• Championship leader Louis Foster extends advantage to 10-points in interrupted race.

Bart Horsten took his maiden victory in the F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost in an action-packed reverse grid race at Donington Park to launch himself back into the frame at the sharp end of the championship standings.

The Australian managed two safety car periods and two red-flag periods to take Arden Motorsport’s first win of 2019 in superlative fashion, fending off Carlin’s Joe Turney – who extends his lead in the Rookie Cup stakes – by a mere 0.3 seconds in a race cut short after Carter Williams’ JHR machine got beached in the gravel at Coppice.

It was Fortec Motorsport’s Roberto Faria who led the field away well from reverse-grid pole position, fending off Turney and Arden’s Alex Connor at the start to hold the lead, whilst further back Williams made a lightning start to jump to fourth from seventh and apply pressure to the leaders.

As Faria and Turney ran side-by-side down the Exhibition Straight, Horsten took full advantage to slingshot himself around the outside of the race leader into Robert’s Chicane and duly took the lead, with Turney and then Williams further demoting Faria at Redgate.

Things then got worse for the Brazilian as he tried to regain momentum and contact with Richardson Racing’s Luke Browning – back in the action after a mechanical problem yesterday – sent Faria off-track and into the barriers at Hollywood, bringing out the first of two red-flag stoppages.

After a short delay to repair the tyre barriers, Horsten did well to retain the advantage as Williams leapfrogged Connor into second and began to give chase.

Then followed a superb battle for the race lead, with Williams initially taking top spot after a textbook slipstreaming move down the main straight and into Redgate, before Horsten feinted one way and then launched himself down the inside with a bold move at McLeans to take the position back.

That put Williams a little out of shape, allowing Turney to sweep back through into second at Coppice.

Another safety-car period after problems for Fortec’s Mariano Martinez put that duel on ice for a while, with Horsten stealing a march at the restart to keep Turney – chasing the £5,000 prize for Ford’s Rookie Award – at arm’s length.

Though the Briton pushed hard, he would never get another opportunity to force Horsten into an error, with Williams’ off-track excursion at Coppice bringing out the red flags with three minutes to go, and the race ended as a result.

Horsten therefore became the fourth different winner in five races this campaign, with Turney left to consolidate himself with a second successive Rookie Cup triumph.

“It was really hard to concentrate with the red flags making it difficult,” admitted Horsten.

“The first thing I thought is ‘I’ve to get past’. I knew he [Williams] was going to defend as I made that move there yesterday so I waited to the last minute. I qualified eighth and 10^th so to get two podiums is great.

“A huge thank you to everybody at Arden Motorsport for all their hard work and support.”

Championship leader Louis Foster completed the podium after emerging on top of a thrilling dice for fourth, which became third after Williams’ troubles. That result extends his lead over Double R Racing team-mate Sebastian Alvarez – fifth on the road in this one behind Alex Connor – to 10 points.

Zane Maloney completed the Rookie Cup podium in sixth overall after a hard-fought contest for the Barbadian racer, six tenths of a second ahead of JHR’s Josh Skelton who recovered well from a first-lap stall to take solid points in seventh.

Martinez overcame his problems to score his first points of the weekend in eighth in the surviving Fortec car, with Browning ninth and Reema Juffali claiming the final point in tenth.

Tommy Foster had been in the thick of the fight for fourth at one stage, but a trip across the gravel at the Old Hairpin curtailed his charge and dropped the third Arden machine back to eleventh at the end.

• Foster survives late-race clash with Joe Turney at Redgate to extend championship lead.
• Alex Connor ends debut weekend victorious in the Rookie Cup stakes for Arden.
• Foster, Maloney and Double R lead in their respective championships as the series heads next to Thruxton.

Double R Racing’s Louis Foster won a dramatic final F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost race at Donington Park after surviving a collision at Redgate on the final lap with Carlin’s Joe Turney.

It was team-mate Sebastian Alvarez who made the better start from the front row, seizing the lead on the outside of Redgate and leaving Foster to hold off a charging Luke Browning (Richardson Racing) into the Old Hairpin.

That battle was halted at the end of the opening lap after Arden Motorsport’s Tommy Foster hit the inside kerb at Robert’s Chicane and ran out wide into the barrier at the exit of the corner, bringing out the safety car.

When the action resumed with ten minutes left on the clock, it was Alvarez who retained the advantage, soaking up the pressure lap-on-lap from Foster behind. The duo made wheel-to-wheel contact on one occasion at Schwantz Curve, whilst behind erstwhile Rookie Cup points leader Turney continued his rise through the field to third after passing Browning at Hollywood.

The status quo at the front was broken shortly after, with Foster and Alvarez running wide on successive corners at McLeans and Coppice to allow Turney through into the lead at the final chicane, and in pursuit of the £5,000 prize for winning the Ford Rookie Award and taking a win outright.

That sequence also allowed Foster to finally dispatch Alvarez for second and give chase to the former British and World X30 karting champion.

Foster struck back and finally moved into the lead of the race at Roberts as the field began the final lap, before disaster struck moments later as the pair made contact as Turney attempted to get the cut-back at Redgate, ending the Carlin racer’s weekend in the gravel with a non-score.

That left Foster to take the chequered flag a mere 0.6 seconds clear of Alvarez in a 1-2 finish for reigning champions Double R Racing, extending his lead at the top of the standings to 17 points.

“It’s an awesome way to end the weekend,” commented Foster.

“After winning race one, finishing third in race two and now winning race three, it’s an amazing points haul, which is the main concern.

“I just knew I had to send it in [on his move for the lead]. It was second to last corner on the penultimate lap and I knew I had to make that move, so I just went for it and hope it stuck and it did stick. A bit of luck there probably, luckily he didn’t turn in on me. I really hope that was televised because I’ll be watching that back!

“I’m over the moon with these results and hopefully we can continue this success into Thruxton.”

Luke Browning salvaged a third podium finish of the season behind Alvarez, with Josh Skelton eventually fourth in a rollercoaster of a race for the JHR Developments driver.

Arden’s Alex Connor ended his debut weekend in the Ford EcoBoost-powered series with a maiden Rookie Cup success, taking fifth on the road with the second Carlin car of Zane Maloney behind in sixth.

Carter Williams bounced back from his disappointment in the middle contest to take seventh, the American holding off race two winner Bart Horsten (Arden) after the Australian was forced to pit early doors for a new nose cone.

Fortec Motorsport’s Mariano Martinez and Roberto Faria complete the points-paying positions in ninth and tenth, with Reema Juffali eleventh.