Round 2 of the 2024 British F4 Esports Championship saw Guild Academy’s Henry Moore move to the top of the standings after a disastrous event for his Guild Esports stablemates Remy Gilbert and Leo Brown at Zandvoort.
Scuderia Ferrari HP Esports Team’s Graham Carrol looked like he’d head into Round 3 as championship leader, only for a Race 2 incident to scupper his chances.
With Guild and Carroll eager to make amends at Snetterton, alongside the emerging threat of Matt Caruana, Moore would surely have his work cut out for him.
As it turned out, the young rookie had the measure of everyone.
Race 1
Moore showed his intentions early on during Round 3, securing pole position by just 0.045s from Mensah Racing Driven By Us’ Caruana, with Gilbert taking third less than half-a-tenth behind.
The top four positions remained static until the Bentley Straight on lap two, as Caruana drafted past Moore and into the lead. On lap eight, Moore launched an aggressive move on Caurauna to regain first, but this only lasted one lap as Caruana returned the favour.
The pair raced cleanly and mostly side-by-side for the next few corners, with Gilbert assisting his Guild stablemate with a bump-draft down the Bentley Straight. In the subsequent commotion, Carroll snatched third, while Caruana consolidated first.
On the final lap, Moore had to focus on the challenge from Carroll behind rather than the lead battle in front, with Caruana making sure of the win by weaving to deter any slipstreaming.
The top three remaining in that order to the chequered flag with Gilbert close behind in fourth.
Race 2
The reversed grid draw for Race 2 saw Ferrari Esports’ Gergo Baldi start from pole position, with Caruana lining up sixth.
It didn’t take long for one of the frontrunners to hit trouble, as Gilbert misjudged his braking into Agostini and collected the rear of FreeM UK by Altitude eSports’ Will Chadwick. Unbelievably, Chadwick was able to continue in second position with Carroll and Moore hot on his heels.
Carroll attempted an outside move on Chadwick at Agostini but was shoulder-barged wide, dropping a position to Caruana in the process. The Scot regained the position on the next tour, which would soon prove crucial.
Up front, Moore and Baldi made contact heading towards the Bombhole, with Chadwick slotting down the inside of the Hungarian. Unfortunately, Baldi tried to hang it around the outside and tagged the rear-left of Chadwick who spun into retirement.
Carroll capitalised on the duo’s misfortune to jump into second position, with Baldi failing to hold off Caruana after some close-quarters fighting near pitwall. Playing the team game, Baldi held his opponent off long enough to allow team-mate Carroll to ease out of slipstreaming range.
With matters seemingly decided up front, the focus fell on Guild Esports’ Leo Brown, who had spectacularly gained 16 positions and was now in the fight for fourth. With two laps to go, Brown passed Baldi at Brundle, capping a remarkable comeback drive after a disappointing Race 1.
Heading onto the final lap, Carroll was tantalisingly close to the back of Moore but the young Englishman didn’t give his more experienced rival a look-in, topping off a commensurate performance. Caruana came home a distant third, cementing his third position in the championship.
The result sees Moore increase his championship lead to Carroll by 12 points, with the rookie now holding a 24-point buffer heading into the fourth round of the championship at Oulton Park on the 23rd of October.
2024 UK FF1600 Esports Cup, Round 3
Lewis Wherrell took the championship lead over Mark Fletcher after Round 2 of the UK FF1600 Esports Cup, after early pacesetters Crofton Woodhatch and Hans Jakob Sivertsen Mollatt both came to strife at various points.
However, Wherrell was absent for Round 3, using up his drop score joker in the process. The damage to his championship hopes was mitigated slightly by his closest rivals failing to qualify well, with Mollatt scraping fourth and Fletcher seventh on the sodden track.
Up front, though, Oliver Stone took a surprise pole position, an achievement he’ll likely never forget (a JFK moment, if you will).
Race 1
Stone streaked away from the standing start, with the chasing pack doing a remarkable job of staying on track on the drenched Norfolk asphalt.
Shoma Shintani dropped onto the grass on lap two, ceding his second place to Ian Joyner, followed by Sam Sanders, Mollatt and Fletcher. Joyner also ran wide at Riches Corner, dropping to fourth in the process.
Both Sanders and Joyner had off-track moments soon after, allowing Fletcher an opportunity to attack Mollatt while Stone continued to build a gap out front, mastering the tricky conditions.
The battle for second was seemingly settled as Mollatt encountered a scary aquaplaning moment on the Bentley Straight, but Fletcher looped it exiting Riches allowing Mollatt back through as conditions worsened.
In the end, Stone cruised home for the win, with Mollatt and Sanders recovering to second and third positions respectively.
Race 2
The reverse grid draw for Race 2 saw Harvey Jones start from pole position with Joyner sitting alongside on the front row.
The pair went side-by-side into Turn 1 but both found themselves gazumped by Sanders into the Montreal hairpin, in what was an incredibly opportunistic overtaking manoeuvre.
Fletcher eased himself into second position by lap two as Joyner faded to sixth, with Jones hanging on to a podium position in third, shadowed by Shoma Shintani.
By lap four the battle for the lead was on, with Fletcher moving forcefully ahead of Sanders at Montreal, with Jones following through behind, before Shintani slipstreamed his way into second. It was short-lived, as the Japanese went for an ever-closing gap at Williams and spun out of contention.
On the final lap, Fletcher out-braked himself into Montreal, allowing both Jones and the impressive Stone through, before Fletcher retaliated at Agostini to reclaim second. In a tight run to the line Jones held on for victory, followed closely by Fletcher, Sanders and Stone respectively.
The result sees Fletcher return to the top of the championship standings, chased by Sanders and Mollatt, with Wherrell dropping to fourth overall.
2024 British F4 Esports Championship, Round 3 Snetterton Race 1 results
- Matt Caruana, Mensah Racing Driven By Us
- Henry Moore, Guild Academy
- Graham Carroll, Scuderia Ferrari HP Esports Team
- Remy Gilbert, Guild Esports
- William Chadwick, FreeM UK by Altitude eSports
2024 British F4 Esports Championship, Round 3 Snetterton Race 2 results
- Henry Moore, Guild Academy
- Graham Carroll, Scuderia Ferrari HP Esports Team
- Matt Caruana, Mensah Racing Driven By Us
- Leo Brown, Guild Esports
- Gergo Baldi, Scuderia Ferrari HP Esports Team
Driver standings after Round 3
- Henry Moore, Guild Academy, 211 points
- Graham Carroll, Scuderia Ferrari HP Esports Team, 187 points
- Matt Caruana, Mensah Racing Driven By Us, 185 points
- William Chadwick, FreeM UK by Altitude eSports,127 points
- Remy Gilbert, Guild Esports, 127 points
Team standings after Round 3
- Scuderia Ferrari HP Esports Team, 286 points
- Guild Esports, 242 points
- Guild Academy, 211 points
- Mensah Racing Driven By Us, 206 points
- G2 Esports, 199 points
2024 British F4 Esports Championship and UK FF 1600 Esports Cup schedule
Round 1 – 25th September – Brands Hatch IndyRound 2 – 2nd October – ZandvoortRound 3 – 16th October Snetterton 300- Round 4 – 23rd October Oulton Park Full
- Round 5 – 30th October Silverstone GP
- Round 6 – 13th November Knockhill
- Round 7 – 20th November Donington GP
- Round 8 – 27th November Brands Hatch GP
Images courtesy of Rhys Caryl / RC Sim Photography
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