Photo: Steve Whitfield

Souley Motorsport’s Ollie White came out on top in a choatic final to the Walter Hayes Trophy on Silverstone’s National layout.

The event was decided by a five-lap sprint on a damp track, following a multi-car collision at Luffield that took out several big names and required the race to be stopped entirely.

Poleman White surged away in the restarted race, but was challenged by reigning BRSCC National Formula Ford 1600 champion Neil Maclennan.

KMR’s Maclennan had led briefly before before a safety car period on lap four and was part of a three-car leading group with team-mate Jordan Dempsey and White on that restart. Dempsey was fastest of the three, but spun at Brooklands.

On the following lap, team-mate and fellow WHT winner Michael Moyers also spun there after braking too late challenging for the lead.

That opened up room for Team Dolan’s Chris Middlehurst, who diced with White and led briefly before the red flag.

He lined up alongside White for the restarted five-lap decider, and attacked the leader until spinning at Copse after rear contact. Wayne Poole Racing’s Josh Fisher was part of the lead quartet and had a few looks at passing Middlehurst, but also dropped down the order.

White’s other rivals dissapearing left Maclennan in second again in the restarted race, with Team USA scholar Bryce Aron inheriting third and holding off Dolan’s Ross Martin to complete the podium.

Martin’s team-mate Matt Cowley finished fifth and Moyers recovered to finish in sixth, beating old rival Fisher.

Enigma Motorsport’s Jack Wolfenden challenged Fisher late on but settlef for eighth, clear of Fisher’s brother Felix (TM Racing) and Jamie Sharp (B-M Racing).

FFord Festival winner Rory Smith tangled with Swift Cooper’s drivers, while Ben Mitchell drove a Merlyn Mk20 to 12th from an original starting spot of 36th.

Restarted race results (5 laps)

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Maclennan grabbed the lead from Middlehurst on the first lap and was only rarely seriously challenged. Even a safety car period for the retrieval of a beached Joey Foster from Luffield could not dent his lead, as he got a great restart to carry on where he left off and brought home the win.

Middlehurst was a fairly safe second for most of the race, although he did have Maclennan’s KMR team-mate Michael Moyers snapping at his heels and had the safety car not been required, things could have been different for him.

Moyers started fourth and picked off Luke Cooper on the opening lap to move into the third place he would finish in.

Cooper held fourth until right at the end, when Enigma Motorsport’s Jack Wolfenden snuck past him. Cooper did well to keep ahead of team-mate Robert Hall, who rapidly gained on him late on, but had to settle for sixth.

Formula Ford Festival winner Rory Smith was a little way behind, having done well to stay on track after an altercation with Historic FF1600 champion and B-M Racing team-mate Cameron Jackson, who tumbled down the order and ended up 20th, meaning he failed to qualify for the final.

Don Hardman Racing’s Foster, a three-time WHT winner, was one of only two reitrees, having a terminal off while battling Team USA scholar Jackson Lee.

Low Dempsey Racing driver Jackson Lee finished in 10th, behind Graham Brunton Racing’s Seb Melrose and John’s Racing Team regular Pascal Monbaron.

Race results (12 laps)

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The three-time event winner’s Firman RFR20 was badly damaged in a crash in his heat on Saturday, and his non-finish put him 20th on the grid for the 10-lap Progression Race.

He was into the top ten by the end of the opening lap and had leapfrogged to fifth after lap two. The Don Hardman Racing driver held a safe second until problems for Adam Higgins meant he was able to take the lead and he pulled away by an astonishing 13.891 seconds in the remaining laps.

Higgins had got a great start on a wet track, leading by a good distance after the opening laps. The Riadro Motorsport driver’s Firman RFR16 was making some alarming noises by the end of the race, making his drop of time to Foster, Joe Porter and Will Everington more understandable.

Everington had started from pole and kept his lead for a lap or two but was passed by the charging Higgins.

Souley Motorsport’s Leanne McShane was fifth, with a handy gap to Wayne Poole Racing’s James Colborn. Colin Turner started on the front row and briefly led, but ended up finishing in seventh and just ahead of Neil Broome.

Tim Brise’s Merlyn was the first Pre-’82 car home in 16th place, and the last driver to make it through to the Last Chance Race. Foster’s win puts him 21st on the grid for the next race of the weekend.

Race results (10 laps)

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Photo: Steve Whitfield

Ollie White and Chris Middlehurst both took controlling wins in the third and fourth heat races of the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone National.

Heat three took place in sunny conditions, but on a wet track, and Souley Motorsport’s White passed poleman Josh Fisher to lead into the first corner, while Wayne Poole Racing’s Fisher lost a further place to Low Dempsey Racing’s Jonathan Browne.

Fisher reclaimed second from Browne next time by, as White made his escape in front. B-M Racing’s Jamie Sharp passed Team USA scholar Bryce Aron for fourth, while Sharp’s team-mate Dave McArthur closed in behind.

Sharp continued to make progress, taking third from Browne, before closing in on Fisher. White controlled the pace up front, and Fisher held off Sharp at the line by 0.17s.

Browne finished sixth after losing out in a penultimate lap fight to Aron and McArthur. Kevin Mills Racing’s Megan Gilkes had a lonely run to seventh, 4.5s further behind.

Middlehurst won heat four by an even more comfortable margin of two seconds over Luke Cooper.

The Team Dolan was pipped off the line by KMR’s Michael MacPherson, who led the first time through Becketts, but Middlehurst did not let that stand for long.

Once he reclaimed the first place he started from, he built up a healthy lead as Macpherson and Cooper then battled. They were quicker than Middlehurst, but the leaer played tactics to ensure victory.

It looked as if it might have been over for Cooper on the first lap when he had a small off. However, it was not much of a setback and he was soon challenging Macpherson for second place and then spending the second half of the race ahead of the Scot.

Team USA scholar Jackson Lee fought off an early attack from Cooper’s team-mate Robert Hall to finish fourth.

Ben Mitchell, despite driving the oldest car on the grid (a Merlyn Mk20), held sixth place for much of the encounter, having made an excellent start and got a good run through the pack. He was passed in the last third of the race by LDR’s Maxwell Esterson and Graham Brunton Racing’s Logan Hannah.

Sunday feature Progression and Last Chance races before the semi-finals and final.

Additional reporting by Steve Whitfield

Results round-up
Heat 3 (8 laps)
1 Ollie White Souley Motorsport 9m17.630s
2 Josh Fisher Wayne Poole Racing +0.989s
3 Jamie Sharp B-M Racing +1.160s
4 Bryce Aron Low Dempsey Racing +1.919s
5 Dave McArthur B-M Racing +2.117s
6 Jonathan Browne Low Dempsey Racing +2.437s
7 Megan Gilkes Kevin Mills Racing +6.971s
8 Josh Smith Oldfield Motorsport +8.441s
9 Morgan Quinn Team Dolan +10.128s
10 Callum Grant B-M Racing +11.170s
Fastest lap: McArthur, 1m09.109s

Heat 4 (8 laps)
1 Chris Middlehurst Team Dolan 9m14.668s
2 Luke Cooper Swift Cooper +2.068s
3 Michael Macpherson Kevin Mills Racing +2.371s
4 Jackson Lee Low Dempsey Racing +7.494s
5 Robert Hall Swfit Cooper +7.718s
6 Maxwell Esterson Low Dempsey Racing +10.252s
7 Logan Hannah Graham Brunton Racing +10.650s
8 Ben Mitchell Wayne Poole Racing +13.831s
9 Chris Hodgen Souley Motorsport +15.377s
10 Pascal Monbaron John’s Racing Team +16.617s
FL: Macpherson, 1m08.898s

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Photo: LAT Images

Sabre Cook will race part-time in Indy Pro 2000 this year with Team Benik in addition to a second season in W Series.

The American engineering graduate finished 12th in the inaugural W Series season, and took a first Formula 3 podium in the series’ non-championship race at Assen.

In 2018 she raced part-time in USF2000 with Benik, and took a best finish of 14th on the Indianapolis road course.

?I?m very excited to rejoin Team Benik and my Road To Indy campaign,? said Cook.

?I think supplementing my second season in W Series competition with another great open-wheel series like the Indy Pro 2000 championship will only accelerate my development as a driver.”

Cook will miss the championship’s two oval races at Lucas Oil Raceway and Gateway, as well as the races in Toronto and at Portland. Benik’s plan is to run at least one car in USF2000 during the rounds where Cook is present for IP2000.

Another female driver to have secured a seat for the season is Swiss karting graduate Lena Buhler, who joins Drivex School in Spanish Formula 4.

The single-seater debutant impressed Drivex team Miguel Angel de Castro at a winter test prior to signing, having come off the back of a title-contending campaign in the Swiss national championship for X30 karts and other tests with Bhaitech and Jenzer Motorsport.

“Women are getting a great weight in motorsport and we all at Drivex are proud to work with female drivers and help them to achieve top results,” said de Castro.

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Formula 4 South East Asia leader Elias Seppanen won three of the four races at Sepang, where local driver Muizz Musyaffa took his first victory.

The first two races were fairly uneventful, barring a malfunction with the starting lights that caused the planned standing start for race one to be changed to a rolling start. Lucca Allen looked ready to pounce on poleman Seppanen early on, but he was soon caught by Musyaffa and had to settle for third.?

Appropriately, the positions were reversed after the first of the reverse-grid races, with Allen getting the better of Musyaffa behind Seppanen.

The top three had been jostling for position just behind Indian newcomer Sohil Shah. Seppanen managed to get away when Allen ran wide, not long after the Finn had passed Allen for the lead. Musyaffa was caught up in a tussle with Frederico Peters, but prevailed in the end.

The second reverse-grid race was where things got interesting. Shah was the early leader after passing Peters and would have had a chance at the win had he not locked up at Turn 1.

The trio of Seppanen, Musyaffa and Allen took up the slack with their battle, until Seppanen and Allen had contact at Turn 2 trying to overhaul Musyaffa. Allen retired with a puncture and Seppanen was disqualified for exceeding track limits and causing a collision, handing victory to Musyaffa.

Seppanen won again from pole in race four. Allen stayed fairly close but was unable to challenge seriously, while Musyaffa looked to be struggling for grip on the way to third.

Chinese F4 champion Conrad Clark wasn’t able to end his season on on the high he expected, finishing behind Zijian He for the first two races and Shang Zongyi for the third. Smart Life Racing driver He cemented his position as championship runner-up, with Zongyi a distant third but with almost twice as many points as fourth-placed Jingwei Lu.

Clark did take pole, but recurrent engine troubles during the races meant that he was almost two seconds slower than his Chinese rivals. He was happiest with his performance in the reverse-grid third race, in which he got within touching distance of leader Zongyi from seventh on the grid.

Canadian Maxx Ebenal finished third in the first two races, but didn’t start the third – instead handing out the honours.

Results round-up?[pole in bold, fastest lap in italics]

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Photo: ACI Sport

Frederik Vesti topped both qualifying sessions to claim pole for all three Formula Regional European Championship races at the Hungaroring.

The Prema driver was the first to go under the 1m40s mark in the first session, and led the second by 0.154s over team-mate Olli Caldwell.

Caldwell was pipped to second place in the first session by a late-charging Enzo Fittipaldi, another Prema signing and Vesti’s chief rival for the title, but the Brazilian could only manage fourth in the second.

Van Amersfoort Racing’s Sophia Floersch was narrowly in front of him, having got into her groove in Q2 and ducked under 1m40s. She was fifth in the first session.

David Schumacher appeared to be having some problems in Q2 after setting the early pace in Q1. He was one of the last drivers to take to the track and took a while to hit his stride. He was outrun by Caldwell again in the second session, and could not match Florsch’s time either, having narrowly edged her out in the first.

Igor Fraga, fourth placed in the championship, got into trouble at the end of Q1, having been quick in practice. He was stranded at Turn 13 during a slow lap, but his problems were dealt with in the brief intermission and he was eighth in Q2.

VAR newcomer Alexandre Bardinon will start in 12th place for his first race with the team, ahead of Sharon Scolari.

Qualifying round-up
Race 1 grid
1 Frederik Vesti Prema 1m39.354s
2 Enzo Fittipaldi Prema +0.325s
3 Olli Caldwell Prema +0.404s
4 David Schumacher US Racing +0.491s
5 Sophia Floersch Van Amersfoort Racing +0.739s
6 Marcos Siebert US Racing +0.916s
7 Igor Fraga DR Formula by RP Motorsport +0.988s
8 Isac Blomqvist KIC Motorsport +1.154s
9 Konsta Lapappalainen KIC Motorsport +1.159s
10 Tom Beckhauser Technorace +1.357s

Race 2 grid
1 Vesti 1m39.325s
2 Caldwell +0.154s
3 Floersch +0.333s
4 Fittipaldi +0.345s
5 Schumacher +0.358s
6 Blomqvist +0.599s
7 Siebert +0.636s
8 Fraga +0.766s
9 Guzman +1.016s
10 Beckhauser +1.055s

Race 3 grid
1 Vesti 1m39.513s
2 Caldwell +0.056s
3 Fittipaldi +0.170s
4 Schumacher +0.341s
5 Floersch +0.445s
6 Siebert +0.470s
7 Blomqvist +0.489s
8 Fraga +0.698s
9 Beckhauser +0.881s
10 Guzman +1.040s

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Photo: F4 South East Asia

Lucca Allen extended his Formula 4 South East Asia lead with a brace of wins at Buriram.

The Irish youngster would have made it three without a race one penalty but had to settle for sharing the spoils with Shihab Al Habsi.

Allen was struck by a 30-second penalty for exceeding track limits race one, demoting him to fifth. Al Habsi, who finished a second behind Allen on-track, inherited the win, ahead of Muizz Musyaffa and Malthe Jakobsen.

Josh Smith and Alister Yoong were also penalised for the same reason and finished in sixth and seventh. Smith was also quicker than Al Habsi before his punishment.

Allen fought back in the reversed-grid second race, charging through the field to reach second place after the first lap before reeling in Yoong for the lead. Allen won by a comfortable margin of four second from Smith, who kept within the lines this time.

The stewards were being extremely observant with track limits infringements; three of the four races included three drivers being sanctioned. Yoong was dropped from fourth to sixth by one such penalty, after being overhauled for second by Smith. Elias Seppanen had another clean race to finish third.

Al Habsi won the second reverse-grid race, taking advantage of his third-place start due to an indifferent race two. Seppanen was the fastest of the ten drivers but could not match the consistency of Al Habsi. Allen continued to amass points in third place.

Smith had another nightmare, picking up another penalty for gaining an unfair advantage and ending the race in sixth, behind Muizz Musyaffa and Yoong.

Allen was the victor in the final race, almost half a second in front of a hard-charging Seppanen, who almost matched him on laptimes throughout. Al Habsi was third, seven seconds further back, having passed Smith.

The biggest battle of the race was between Jakobsen and Yoong for sixth. Yoong defended just a little too robustly, causing damage to Jakobsen’s rear wheel and precipitating his retirement. Yoong was also fighting against a damaged front wing, incurred in an equally physical tussle with Al Habsi’s car. The former was penalised 90s for causing a collision, exceeding track limits and driving standards, dropping him to ninth place.

The post Lucca Allen shares F4 SEA spoils with Shihab Al Habsi at Buriram appeared first on Formula Scout.

Britain?s Teddy Wilson won the first race from Brazilian Kiko Porto, after Christian Brooks was disqualified from second place due to a non-functioning transponder on his car. Poleman Joshua Car of Kiwi Motorsport was fourth in the changing conditions.

Car?s pace was proven again in the third race, which he won by 0.720 seconds from team-mate Arthur Leist and DEForce Racing’s Porto, who by beating Jose Blanco-Chock to third denied Kiwi Motorsport a podium lockout. Porto was the winner of the second race, beating Dylan Tavella and Blanco-Chock.

Jonny Wilkinson, one of five drivers from Jay Howard?s team, had started on pole for the latter two races but struggled, finishing 14th and 18th.

While US F4 enjoyed grids of more than 20 cars, the South East Asian championship suffered from its clash with the French F4 championship, but nevertheless had exciting racing and a new championship leader thanks to Hadrien David’s absence.

Irishman Lucca Allen took his place at the top of the leaderboard after winning the first and third races at Sepang. Poleman Josh Smith was runner-up both times before claiming his own win in the final race. Race two was won by Elias Seppanen, another new winner, who forced his way through from twelfth place on the grid.

Returning drivers Alister Yoong and Shihab Al Habsi were the chief beneficiaries of the reversed grid for race two, finishing second and third. They had started from the front row after colliding in the first race, a incident that necessitated the appearance of the safety car.

Seppanen credited his starts for his strong performance, which included a third, second and fourth place.

Allen and Smith also overcame the disadvantages of the reversed grid in race three, finishing first and second, ahead of Indian driver Arya Singh, who netted a surprise podium. Smith then scored a commanding victory from pole in the final race.

The people behind Formula Academy Finland helped out with a new Russian F4 championship at the weekend, continuing with the support of F4 North European Zone promoter SMP Racing, and it shared its first race with a group of Formula Renault 2.0 chassis at Fort Grozny Autodrom.

SMP Racing protege Pavel Bulantsev, who finished sixth in FAcademy Finland and seventh in F4 NEZ last year, took a dominant win in the 20-lap race, beating not only his F4 rivals but all the drivers in the faster machinery. Ivan Nossov finished over 10 seconds behind in second, with fellow SMP junior Alexey Nessov completing the podium.

The seven-round season is based entirely in Russia, and finishes on the Russian Grand Prix undercard in Sochi.

Additional reporting by Elliot Wood

Results round-up [pole in bold, fastest lap in italics]

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Photo: W Series

W Series has confirmed that will hold a second season in 2020 during a press conference at its pre-season Lausitz test.

All drivers from the inaugural season will be eligible to enter the series next year, although it is unclear whether they will have to go through the same selection process again to make it onto the grid.

The only pre-season test for 2019 took place this week, with all drivers given the same test programme of 138 laps.

Times were withheld from the public, although one picture was leaked of the three-day test’s final session, showing a spread of 2.214 seconds across the 19-car field.

The press conference included questions from Twitter users answered by series CEO Catherine Bond Muir and performance director Dave Ryan.

Ryan confirmed that W Series drivers will be banned from testing at circuits in advance to the series racing at them, although did not go into enough detail to identify whether that ban was limited to the regional Formula 3 cars that W Series uses, and if racing in other championships would bypass that ban.

Five mobile simulators will also be shipped to every round alongside the cars, with W Series entrants allowed a session in a simulator to learn circuits immediately prior to and after each weekend’s races.

The financial model of W Series was expanded on Bond Muir, revealing that the championship uses an investor model rather than sponsorship at present, and that the prize money for the upcoming season will have no spending restrictions, meaning the W Series champion can use their $500,000 cash prize on whatever they want.

Jamie Chadwick becomes Aston Martin Racing junior

Aston Martin has signed W Series title favourite and MRF Challenge champion Jamie Chadwick to its junior roster of racing drivers.

The 20-year-old has history in sportscar racing, having won the 2015 British GT4 title alongside Ross Gunn, a fellow Aston Martin factory driver and BRDC British F3 race-winner. She also raced in the Nurburgring 24 Hours last year.

Chadwick will partner up with Gunn again for the Nurburgring-based VLN Endurance Championship, leading up to a second attempt at the 24-hour race.

?It?s an incredible feeling to become an Aston Martin works junior driver. To have started my racing journey in an Aston Martin in British GTs in 2015, and to then be welcomed back and rewarded with a works contract is fantastic,” said Chadwick.

“It?s looking like it?s going to be a big year. The W Series is a key focus in 2019 and winning that title has to be an imperative, but bringing home some silverware in the N?rburgring 24 Hours is extremely important to me as well.”

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