GERMAN F4 CHAMP LEADS TROPHY ENTRY
Schumacher-beater Mawson to F3 Autumn Trophy with Douglas
ADAC Formula 4 champion Joey Mawson heads a strong entry for this weekend’s BRDC British Formula 3 Championship Autumn Trophy at Snetterton.
Australian Mawson beat the son of seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher, Mick, to the German F4 crown this year with Van Amersfoort Racing, recording 10 wins from 24 events.
The 20-year-old will race for Douglas Motorsport during the event, which has been slimmed from two rounds to one for 2016. He will get his hands on one of the team’s Tatuus F3-016s for the first time on Thursday as part of an Autumn Trophy test session at Snetterton ahead of the fourrace weekend.
Mawson will be joined by Jamie Caroline, who finished 10th in the British F4 Championship this year with one victory from the season finale at Brands Hatch and a further four podiums to his name. He tested with the team at the Norfolk circuit last week.
“Joey will be in one of our cars,” said Douglas Motorsport owner Wayne Douglas. “He knows Thomas [Randle] and had been toying with the idea of doing F4 in the UK last year before it changed to F3.
“It’s a great opportunity for us and for Joey; it’s a bit of a step up in machinery for him from the ADAC car, and a good chance for him to raise his profile in the UK. We expect him to be competitive this weekend.
“The deal with Jamie has been coming together for a few weeks now. I get on well with his father and grandfather. Last Thursday was the first time he tested the car; he was fast in the wet, and struggled a bit in the dry but he’s learning to adapt to the aero. He loved the car.”
The Douglas pairing forms part of an expected 12-car entry for the event. Double R Racing, which helped Matheus Leist to the overall 2016 crown, will make its debut in the Trophy having skipped the event last year. The team is expected to run a multicar entry, and has so far confirmed it will run a car for Dan Ticktum ( see sidebar).
Carlin will also make its Autumn Trophy debut and will enter cars for Enaam Ahmed – who contested the main 2016 championship with Douglas – British F4 driver James Pull and US F4 champion Cameron Das.
Ben Hingeley, who raced in BRDC F3 this season with the outgoing HHC Motorsport outfit, has teamed up with Fortec – which helped Ben Barnicoat to last year’s Autumn Trophy title – and is joined at the team by former Red Bull and Lotus junior Callan O’keeffe.
Hillspeed will also run two cars in the event. Sasakorn ‘Cutter’ Chaimongkol will race one of its cars, while Omani karter Abdullah Al Rawahi will compete in the other.
Jordan Cane, who will race for Hillspeed in the main championship next year as part of its tie-up with Cliff Dempsey Racing, will also test for the team in a third car during exclusive Autumn Trophy sessions on Thursday and Friday at Snetterton, but cannot take part in the main event as he is not yet 16.