Fortec Motorsport scored yet another podium finish in the ROKiT F4 British Championship certified by FIA at the high-speed Thruxton circuit last weekend [3-4 June].
The 2.4-mile Hampshire speed bowl set the scene for the fourth meeting of the year in Britain’s FIA Formula 4 series, with Fortec arriving buoyed by the addition of South African talent Mika Abrahams to the now three-car line-up.
Aiden Neate led the line for the trio in qualifying, securing third spot on the grid, but remarkably just 0.010 seconds shy of pole position – a testament to the close nature of the series in 2023.
Abrahams was an impressive tenth on debut – again, just a tenth of a second shy of Neate – with Higgins another tenth back in P14.
In race trim, Neate was on fine form at the circuit on which he claimed his maiden win a year ago. Quick reflexes off the line promoted him to fifth at Kenato Le’s expense, before capitalising on a mistake from Le’s Hitech team-mate Gabriel Stilp to annex fourth into the chicane.
Higgins made it a double points score for the Daventry team in P10, with Abrahams impressively just shy of scoring points on debut in P12.
Neate’s overtaking prowess was on show once again during Sunday morning’s reverse grid race, the 16-year-old climbing an impressive eight spots from the tail end of the field to claim P13. Higgins and Abrahams found it tough to make progress through a tightly bunched pack, taking the flag P17 and P18.
The team would round out the weekend with silverware during the ITV4-televised finale. Neate, forced to both attack and defend in the first half of the contest, was eventually able to find a way past Stilp for the second time, but by this point, the gap to race leader William Macintyre proved too large to reel in.
Nonetheless, second spot equals his season-best result for the team and makes it five podiums in four rounds for the team.
There was also a ‘feel-good’ moment for Abrahams, the 15-year-old taking his first championship points after a spirited drive to P9. Higgins was an unfortunate retiree.
Oulton Park hosts the next three rounds of the 2023 season on 17-18 June.
James Higgins (#18) said:
“It was a disappointing weekend for me, with a mixture of mistakes from my side in the car, and also a few things out of our control.
“Altogether, it made for a very challenging weekend. But my mindset is already looking ahead to Oulton Park and Silverstone; two back-to-back weekends will give us a good opportunity to bounce back quickly.”
Mika Abrahams (#29) said:
“It was a decent first race weekend in ROKiT British F4 for me, I managed to get my first points finish, so I’m very happy with that.
“There’s still lots to be improved, but together with the fantastic team at Fortec Motorsport I’ve got behind me, I’m very confident in what we can achieve in the season ahead.”
Aiden Neate (#57) said:
“Leaving a race weekend with a smile on my face is always nice, and together with Fortec Motorsport, we definitely enjoyed ourselves this weekend, with a good points haul and a podium finish.
“We made big steps together, were quick from the get-go and had a brilliant car. No doubt we’re going to push even harder to bring us that little bit further to the top step of the podium.
“I’m already looking forward to Oulton and can’t wait to get back out there.”
Oliver Dutton, Team Principal said:
“It always great to leave with some silverware, and there were definitely a lot of positives to take from Thruxton.
“I’m really pleased for Aiden – this was really a great display of what he’s capable of as a driver, not just in the results, but the manner in which he achieved them too, with plenty of overtaking and a great level of consistency.
“Mika did exceptionally well, for his first run out, and we’re really excited about where he can go from here. James was unlucky, plain and simple. Sometimes it doesn’t fall your way, but he’s already shown with a win what he can do, and I’ve no doubt he’ll bounce back at Oulton.”
