Double podium for Louis Sharp at Brands Hatch

Louis Sharp battled engine troubles to score two podium finishes at Brands Hatch over the weekend, rounding out his impressive debut season in the ROKiT F4 British Championship.

The young Kiwi driver got straight to work come testing on Friday, setting the third fastest lap time around the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.

Going into qualifying on Saturday with his head held high, Sharp improved on his practice time by half a second. That saw him place seventh on the grid for race one.

A determined Sharp quickly climbed into fifth but with the podium spots in sight, his car suddenly lost power with a bellow of smoke and flames appearing from the rear, ultimately ending his first race.

Carlin Motorsport got to work on fitting a replacement engine for the following day so that Sharp could take his place on the second row of the grid for race two.

When the green light shone the next day, the Kiwi jumped into third position on his way into turn one. And that’s where he would finish, earning him the first of two podiums that weekend.

The third and final race saw Sharp get a sensational start, jumping from fifth to third. He fought off those behind and nabbed the second spot off of teammate Oliver Gray.

After crossing the line in second place, Sharp had secured fourth position in the championship standings by one point.

That would see the end of Sharp’s first season of international competition with the Kiwi amassing 12 podiums and two victories overall.

“When I pulled off in the first race with flames coming from under the engine cover, I thought my hopes of a top four in the championship were over – and didn’t even know if I’d get back out for the final two races,” he said. 

“To not only get back out, but to also score two podium finishes and secure P4 in the championship is fantastic and there is no doubt that those two results are payback for the team as they did a brilliant job to get the new engine sorted for me.”

Sharp was also the youngest driver on the F4 grid this season and even missed the first three races at Donington because he was too young to compete.

Regardless, he was soon up to speed and racing with the front runners.

“It’s definitely exceeding my expectations because I can’t stand here and say I felt we would take two race wins, all those podiums and end up fourth in the championship,” he said.

“As a first series racing internationally, this was always going to be a bit of a learning year for me to gain experience of racing cars with slicks and wings, and also of racing overseas. 

“Without doubt, this season has been a key one for my future development and had I not come over to the UK to do this, I don’t feel I would be the driver I am now. 

“This good finish to the season gives me a real boost in confidence not only going into the winter, but also into next year.”

The Rodin Cars-backed driver’s future racing plans will be announced soon.

2022 ROKiT F4 British Championship Final Points:

_{Main image: Rodin Cars}