National reports: Thruxton; Snetterton; Donington Park; Brands Hatch
When James Hedley ended the first lap of the final British Formula 4 race of the Thruxton weekend in the barriers at the Club chicane, it looked like he had undone the work he put in to win the opening two contests.
The Fortec driver had bounced over the inside kerb, sending him into the path of Kai Askey, while Matias Zagazeta and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak also got collected. But, with the timetable behind schedule, the red-flagged race was not restarted until after the touring car finale, giving Hedley a second chance. Three corners of his Mygale were damaged, but the Fortec crew was able to get him back out. And, despite the handling being far from ideal, Hedley completed a remarkable turnaround with third place.
“I wanted to score as many points as I could and would’ve been happy just to stay where I was [eighth],” said Hedley. “The boys and girls at Fortec did an amazing job. The tracking was still out, but what we managed to get out of that race was unbelievable.”
Hedley’s weekend did not have the best of starts when he only qualified ninth at his local circuit, a venue where he had previously won three F4 contests and two Ginetta Junior races. But an inspired call to go for slick tyres on the drying track netted him the opening win, his lead over 10 seconds at one point as those on wets floundered.
“I was a little bit sceptical – my dad [ex-f3 racer Gray] was screaming at me to use slicks and I have to thank him for his wise words,” said Hedley. “I pushed more than the other guys on slicks. I went full attack and managed to get that lead.”
Hedley was one of five drivers to opt for slicks, and Joel Granfors and Zagazeta had a thrilling battle for second, until Zagazeta decided it was better to settle for a podium than risk damage.
It then took Hedley fewer than five laps to surge into the reversed-grid (from qualifying) race-two lead, while Zak Taylor defended brilliantly and was only passed for second by Granfors late on.
Aside from Hedley, the other main talking point was the pace of the JHR drivers. They locked out the top four in qualifying but suffered from sticking with wets in the opener. However, Fiesta Junior champion Joseph Loake brought some cheer, fending off team-mate Mckenzy Cresswell to win the wet finale.