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Will closes in on BRDC Formula 4 title with second place at Donington

Will Palmer drove a determined race to claim second in the first BRDC Formula 4 encounter of the weekend at Donington Park today (Saturday), as the BRDC Rising Star closes on the 2015 title. Having qualified second, Will initially dropped to sixth but charged through the field magnificently to reclaim second and the 18-year-old was unfortunate not to pass his team-mate Harri Newey for the win on the last lap.

Owing to overnight rain, track conditions were mixed and slippery as the Duo BRDC Formula 4 cars took to the circuit for the 20 minute session. Despite drivers being in two minds throughout the morning, all 18 cars opted for Pirelli slicks when the pit lane opened.

As the track dried, times began to improve and midway through the session Will began to demonstrate the pace that had seen him top all four practice sessions in Leicestershire on Thursday. He moved to within just 0.021s of then provisional pole-sitter Ciaran Haggerty with 10 minutes left in the session before other improvements dropped him back down the order.

With less than five minutes remaining, he reclaimed second spot as his HHC Motorsport team-mate Harri Newey went quickest. Will couldn't improve on his final lap so he had to settle for a front-row grid spot behind his HHC Motorsport partner.

As the lights went out to start race one, Will was passed by the Chris Dittmann Racing pairing of Tom Jackson and Omar Ismail. He ran wide at Redgate and dropped down to sixth by the end of the opening lap. The Southwater racer soon began mounting his comeback however and he duly dispatched Ameya Vaidyanathan for fifth into the Esses on lap two.

Tom Jackson, second behind Palmer in the championship standings, went off and dropped to 11^th which promoted Will to fourth. He then moved up to third in quick order as he overtook Lanan Racing's Chris Mealin at the Melbourne Hairpin. His recovery drive was completed as he passed Omar Ismail for second with a beautiful move around the outside at Redgate.

The championship leader then set about chasing down Newey and he cut the gap from three seconds to just 0.5s with two laps remaining. He looked to attack at numerous points but couldn't get past and took second.

Speaking after the race, Will said: "It is a good result after losing a lot of ground at the start and falling down to sixth. It is more good points for the championship too. I didn't make a great getaway and then ran wide at the first corner as I tried to hang on around the outside. That meant I lost momentum down the next straight but I managed to pick off a number of drivers to get back to second.

"It is obviously a big bonus to have extended my championship lead so hopefully we move that one step closer to getting that 95-point gap before the end of the weekend."

With Tom Jackson finishing 10^th, Will opened up his advantage in the series to 92 points, giving him a realistic chance of claiming the title following the third race of the weekend at Donington.

Duo BRDC Formula 4 - Donington Park - Race One

1. Harri Newey, HHC Motorsport, 12 Laps
2. Will Palmer, HHC Motorsport, +0.294s
3. Ameya Vaidyanathan, Hillspeed, +12.206s
4. Ciaran Haggerty, Ecurie Ecosse/GBR, +13.188s
5. Omar Ismail, Chris Dittmann Racing, +14.689s
6. Jack Bartholomew, Lanan Racing, +15.866s
7. Chris Mealin, Lanan Racing, +20.227s
8. Jordan Albert, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +21.150s
9. Akhil Rabindra, Douglas Motorsport, +23.693s
10. Tom Jackson, Chris Dittmann Racing, +24.609s
11. Michael O'Brien, Chris Dittmann Racing, +25.230s
12. Rodrigo Fonseca, Lanan Racing, +27.534s
13. James Reveler, 23 Racing, +31.519s
14. Zubair Hoque, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +38.441s
15. Sisa Ngebulana, HHC Motorsport, +40.411s
16. Hernan Fallas, Hillspeed, +1m17.113s
DNF. Fernando Urrutia, Douglas Motorsport, 10 Laps
DNF. Jack Lang, Lang Sport/Gorse Motors, 9 Laps

Race two of the weekend at Donington Park gets underway tomorrow (Sunday) at 11:10 with race three at 15:50.

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