- Fortec Motorsport make their return to ROKiT British F4 Championship in Northamptonshire
- James Higgins takes part in first of two meetings with the team ahead of 2023
- GB3 race winner Marcos Flack stars in Sunday charges through the pack
Fortec Motorsport returned to the thick of the action on their ROKiT British Formula 4 Championship comeback and secured a top 10 finish in the last of three challenging races at Silverstone last weekend (24/25 September).
The Daventry team made their long-awaited return to the FIA-certified British F4 Championship after a year participating in a comprehensive testing programme with the series’ all-new chassis, engine and tyre combination for 2022.
Fortec Motorsport headed to Silverstone’s 1.64-mile National circuit for the first of two meetings remaining on the current British F4 calendar, bringing in young karting sensation James Higgins alongside experienced fellow teenager Marcos Flack, the former having tested with the team throughout the year in preparation for their comeback trail.
Both drivers made up a record grid for the season and showed pace in testing leading up to Saturday morning’s qualifying session. Both Higgins and Flack again mixed it with the regulars in terms of outright pace as they surged to 13th and 14th respectively in the crucial timed session, although Flack’s runs were blighted by five of his best lap times being removed for minor track limits violations.
Attentions shifted to the first of the weekend’s three races, but Fortec Motorsport’s duo would be out of luck after incidents left both drivers needing to visit the pits for quick repairs, both finishing with Higgins best of the red and white cars in 14th by the chequered flag. Higgins was an innocent victim in race two the following day after being involved in an incident between Edward Pearson and Michael Shin, while Flack starred in a charging display.
The young Australian brought his Fortec Tatuus T-421 up into the top 10 after a sublime start before a safety car intervention, after which he moved up to ninth and soon made light work of Eduardo Coseteng on the restart to climb a further place. With the chequered flag almost within sight, a battle ahead ended in slight contact which gave Flack the chance to pounce for seventh place at the race’s conclusion, albeit a five-second time penalty for track limits meant he was classified 12th, Higgins recovering to 16th after a quick stop for repairs.
Flack started highest of the Fortec cars in 12th on the grid for the final race of the weekend, streamed live in front of the ITV4 cameras alongside the British Touring Car Championship. Dodging a start line shunt ahead, Flack charged forward into the top 10 to seal the team’s best result of the weekend in ninth, while Higgins recovered to 13th in a race otherwise truncated by safety car appearances.
Fortec Motorsport will return for the final event of the British F4 season in two weeks’ time, which takes place at Brands Hatch GP circuit on 8/9 October.
Oliver Dutton, Team Manager said:
“This was our first weekend back in the championship and it was all about reclaiming experience with the new package in race conditions. We were pretty close to the ultimate pace early on, and it is a testament to all of those working on the cars and our extensive testing programme that we were that close already at such a short circuit. Both drivers have been learning the ropes, and we’ve ended it strongly with some good recovery drives so it sets us up for a big push in the last round at Brands Hatch GP.”
#9 Marcos Flack
“It was great to be back in British F4. Having the opportunity to work with Fortec was great. We didn’t quite get the results we hoped for but we will come back to Brands Hatch stronger.”
#18 James Higgins
“Mixed weekend as a whole for us and the team, factors outside of our control stopped us from moving forward in the races. However, many positives to take from the weekend and a lot of experience was gained on my part.”
