While the Bathurst 1000 and Qatar Grand Prix are dominating headlines, New Zealand’s Louis Sharp is locked in an enthralling championship battle at Brands Hatch in the final round of the British Formula 4 Championship.
Sharp entered the round on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit with just a one point advantage in the standings over William Macintyre, a gap he has now extended to 13 points after taking victory in this morning’s opening race.
Sharp was immediately on the offensive entering the round, claiming the pole for Sunday’s opener and Monday’s season finale in a tense qualifying session where he relied on his final lap, following a late red flag, to qualify first. The results also give him two additional vital championship points.
A 1:24.130 was enough to claim the position, and Deagen Fairclough did Sharp a favour by going second quickest, ahead of Macintyre, who was forced to start on the second row.
A lights-to-flag victory would follow for the Kiwi Rodin-Carlin driver in Race 1, with Fairclough keeping Macintyre at bay for the entire race, despite experiencing an off-track venture, to claim second, just over a second shy of the win.
Macintyre came home in third, a further 2.873 seconds behind.
A reverse grid race awaits the field in Race 2, which begins at 12.30 am on Monday, with the season concluding just hours later at 4.35 am.
Should Sharp prevail, he will join the likes of Formula 1 driver Lando Norris as a British Formula 4 champion.
Header Image: British Formula 4
