Fortec Motorsport journeys north to Knockhill, Fife this weekend [12-13 August] looking to make good on recent form in the ROKiT F4 British Championship certified by FIA.
The Daventry-based team have an immediate opportunity to strike back in Britain’s FIA Formula 4 series after a decidedly ‘mixed emotions’ trip to Croft last time out.
Impressive pace from the team’s duo of rising stars – Britain’s James Higgins and South African talent Mika Abrahams – in practice translated to race trim and rewarded the outfit with a seventh podium finish of the campaign courtesy of Higgins on Saturday, before banking solid points in the reverse grid race.
The weekend ended abruptly in brutal fashion, however, as both cars were wiped out on the opening lap of the ITV4-televised finale on Sunday in other driver’s incidents.
Refreshed, and ready to go out and prove a point, both Higgins and Abrahams now head north over the Scottish border to Knockhill this time around keen to make up for lost ground and spark a late charge up the championship standings.
Characterised by its rapid changes in gradient and fast, unforgiving nature, Knockhill is a true test of both driver and machine. There are three major overtaking spots to watch out for, the first as the cars head down Duffus Dip and brake for the right-hander at McIntyre’s.
A good exit out of the uphill Black Circles chicane can then tee up a move into Clark’s, and then last – but certainly not least – on the brakes into the final hairpin. Based around 20 miles from Edinburgh, on the right day, with the weather ‘on-side’, it’s even possible to see the iconic Forth Bridge framed as a backdrop to three thrilling contests on-track.
Both drivers will be well acquainted with the venue by the time qualifying rolls around at 10:25 (BST) on Saturday, having enjoyed two days of pre-event testing on Wednesday and Friday.
The opening race follows at 16:15 on Saturday afternoon, with two further contests on Sunday at 10:20 and 15:20 respectively. The latter will be shown live and free-to-air in the UK on ITV4.
James Higgins (#18) said:
“I’m looking forward to tackling the rollercoaster that is Knockhill this weekend.
“We’ll be giving it our absolute all to continue fighting at the front, and the aim is to go out there and get the results that our pace has deserved recently.”
Mika Abrahams (#29) said:
“Knockhill is an exciting track to drive, so I’m looking forward to this weekend.
“We had strong pace at Croft, and definitely showed that we’re in the mix for podium finishes, now.
“To be honest, I wasn’t feeling well over the weekend, so sickness definitely held me back from performing at my best. But I feel fully recovered now, and ready to show everyone what I’m capable of, and where we belong.”
Oliver Dutton, Team Principal said:
“It’s an old cliché, but motorsport is a sport of such highs and lows – our ROKiT British F4 team has been on the receiving end of the latter recently.
“But the whole team – drivers, engineers, mechanics – have all put in the hard yards to make sure we arrive at Knockhill this weekend with a competitive package, so I’m really hopeful this can be something of a ‘turning point’.
“James has been a front-runner all season and deserves to be much higher than seventh in the standings, so I hope we can trigger a bit of a late run of results for him to boost him up. And Mika is a real diamond in the rough – he hasn’t had the opportunity to show what he can really do yet; I hope he gets it this weekend.
“It’s a circuit we’ve always done well at in the past, so fingers crossed Knockhill is kind to us again.”
