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The season-long battle between Henry Moore and Graham Carroll for the 2024 British F4 Esports Championship came down to the final round at Brands Hatch.
Moore, Guild Academy’s young rookie, held the upper hand on his veteran opponent for six of the opening seven rounds but an incident in the first race of Round 7 – ironically with Carroll’s team-mate Gergo Baldi – dented his hopes, leaving Carroll with a comfortable lead for the final two races.
Moore was also hit with a non-qualifying penalty for failing to hold the brakes in the same incident, making his championship hopes even more remote.
It turned out to be an anti-climatic denouement to the championship, however, with Carroll easing his Ferrari Esports’ F4 car to the Drivers’ crown in Race 1 thanks to a measured performance. The Teams’ title was another matter, though, with Guild Esports leading Ferrari by just 15 points as Round 8 approached.
With the UK FF1600 Esports Cup title fight also balanced on a knife edge it was to be a night of fraught battling, with championships on the line right to the end.
Race 1
Surprisingly, G2 Esports’ Isaac Price took pole position for Race 1, followed by Matt Caruana, Remy Gilbert and Carroll respectively. Moore, on the other hand, was way down in 23rd.
Price, eager to put his connection issues in Round 7 behind him, made a sluggish start, allowing Caruana into the lead at Paddock Hill Bend. Carroll maintained fourth and was ably supported by his team-mate Baldie behind, helping fend off the attentions of Guild Esports’ Leo Brown.
The top three were line astern for the majority of the race, with Carroll sensibly leaving them to it. With Moore failing to make sufficient progress through the field, a decent points finish was all that was required for Carroll to win the Drivers’ title.
On the penultimate lap, Guild Esports’ Gilbert made a dive down the inside of Price at Druids, making the move stick on the way to Graham Hill Bend. Crucially, this gave Guild an edge over Ferrari in the Teams’ title battle.
Caruana took a comfortable win – his second in a row – from Gilbert, with Price claiming his first podium of the season in third. Carroll secured fourth and the championship, as Moore, despite a valiant effort, could only take 12th.
Race 2
Guild held an advantage for Race 2 as Leo Brown claimed the reverse grid pole position, but Baldi and Carroll weren’t far behind, sitting third and fourth on the grid respectively.
The final event of the season turned out to be a cagey affair. With the title sewn up, Carroll’s focus was on the Teams’ championship, and for most of the race he held station behind his team-mate.
Brown successfully held off the advances of Williams Esports’ Moreno Sirica until the second half of the race, as the Italian made a fine move at Hawthorn Bend. Baldi tried to capitalise but failed, finally allowing Carroll a shot at the top two with five laps remaining. Baldi was now tasked with holding off the gaggle of cars behind, including Guild’s Remy Gilbert.
Carroll, meanwhile, was on the front foot. He slid through into second at Paddock before launching an almost carbon copy move on Sirica on the penultimate lap.
After this, the live Teams’ points standings showed Guild leading by just six. A drivethrough penalty for Baldi scuppered any chance Ferrari had, however.
The race finished with Carroll, Sirica and Brown on the podium, with Caruana fourth and Gilbert claiming fifth, cementing Guild’s Teams’ title. Henry Moore brought his Guild Academy car home in sixth but would’ve run Carroll close if not for a couple of crucial flashpoints during the championship run-in.
Carroll, however, was a deserving 2024 British F4 Esports Championship champion, showing consummate racecraft to back up his pace.
He will be invited to the star-studded Motorsport UK Night of Champions event to receive his official British Championship Trophy alongside BTCC champion Jake Hill and British Rally Championship victor Chris Ingram, among others.
2024 UK FF1600 Esports Cup, Round 8
Race 1
The battle for the 2024 UK FF1600 Esports Cup was also on the agenda at Brands Hatch, with Mark Fletcher and Shoma Shintani going head-to-head for top honours. Fletcher held a decent lead after dropped scores were taken into consideration but still required two good results to guarantee the championship.
Shintani took first blood by claiming pole position, with Donington’s double winner, Crofton Woodhatch, sitting alongside. Fletcher wasn’t far behind in fourth.
The race settled into a five-way slipstreaming battle for the lead, with Woodhatch, Shintani and Fletcher swapping positions at the front as Lewis Wherrell and Hans Jakob Sivertsen Mollatt gave chase. On the final lap, Woodhatch attacked Shintani for the win but would ultimately lose his second position to Wherrell on the run to the line.
Fletcher finished a solid fourth, maintaining his grip on the title.
Race 2
The reversed grid draw saw Corey Alleyne on pole, with Fletcher fifth and Shintani eighth. Sam Sanders immediately swept into the lead, with Alleyne nudged off at Surtees.
Woodhatch impressively made his way into second position heading onto lap two, but was usurped by an audacious move from Fletcher at Paddock Hill Bend, the Englishman figuring attack was the best form of defence.
Fletcher also used this aggression to fend off the advances of the catching Shintani, with Sanders able to build a gap to the battling pack behind.
Woodhatch looked most likely to overhaul Sanders but lost out in a fierce duel with Shintani on the final lap, with the Japanese drafting the long-term leader on the final straight.
He missed out on another double win by the slenderest of margins, however, and with Fletcher finishing fourth it wasn’t enough to take the title.
Although Fletcher prevailed in the championship battle, both he and Shintani will receive invites to join the 2025 British F4 Esports Championship grid. Judging from Henry Moore’s performance this season, it’s a safe bet they’ll both be right at the sharp end.
2024 British F4 Esports Championship, Round 8 Brands Hatch GP Race 1 results
- Matt Caruana, Mensah Racing Driven By Us
- Remy Gilbert, Guild Esports
- Isaac Price, G2 Esports
- Graham Carroll, Scuderia Ferrari HP Esports Team
- Gergo Baldi, Scuderia Ferrari HP Esports Team
2024 British F4 Esports Championship, Round 8 Brands Hatch GP Race 2 results
- Graham Carroll, Scuderia Ferrari HP Esports Team
- Moreno Sirica, Williams Esports
- Leo Brown, Guild Esports
- Matt Caruana, Mensah Racing Driven By Us
- Remy Gilbert, Guild Espors
Driver standings after Round 8
- Graham Carroll, Scuderia Ferrari HP Esports Team, 515 points
- Henry Moore, Guild Academy, 441 points
- Remy Gilbert, Guild Esports, 411 points
- Matt Caruana, Mensah Racing Driven By Us, 356 points
- Leo Brown, Guild Esports, 346 points
Team standings after Round 8
- Guild Esports, 757 points
- Scuderia Ferrari HP Esports Team, 725 points
- Mensah Racing Driven By Us, 527 points
- Guild Academy, 441 points
- G2 Esports, 439 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 300Round 4 – 23rd October Oulton Park FullRound 5 – 30th October Silverstone GPRound 6 – 13th November KnockhillRound 7 – 20th November Donington GPRound 8 – 27th November Brands Hatch GP
Images courtesy of Rhys Caryl / RC Sim Photography
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