British F4: Harfield claims maiden victory in opening race at Donighton Park

Tommy Harfield claimed his maiden British F4 victory in the opening race of the weekend at Donighton Park after starting on pole position.

Harfield started on pole position with series debutant Dries van Langendonck alongside him on the front row. Harfield powered into the lead early while van Langendonck stalled it on the line dropping him to the back. Martin Molnár would put Harfield under early pressure all while his championship rival, Fionn McLaughlin, jumped from fifth to third place in the opening few corners and was starting to apply pressure to Molnár by the time they got through the Craner Curves. The three broke away from the rest of the field early on leaving Thomas Bearman and Ary Bansal to battle over fourth place.

Bearman would have to fend off Bansal’s constant assault throughout the first half of the race before Bearman ended up having to head to pitlane due to a puncture putting him to the back. Bansal would take fourth but only temporarily before he had to come into the pits due to a mechanical issue. Other drivers throughout the field would be hit with problems as Chase Fernandez, Henry Mercier and Rowan Campbell-Pilling also had to peel into the pits at various points during the race, with the latter being forced to retire.

Despite the constant pressure throughout the race, Harfield managed to hold on to take his first victory in British F4. McLaughlin would manage to pass Molnár to take second place from his rival who had to settle for the final podium spot. Jimmy Piszcyk would manage to claim fourth place after Bearman’s and Bansal’s issues. August Raber would round out the top 5 while Henry Joslyn, Adam Al Azhari and Ethan Jeff-Hall would finish just behind. Oleksandr Savinkov and Cole Hewetson would finish inside the top 10.