Fortec Motorsports was back racing on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, wrapping up its F4 British Championship campaign with Alex Berg, Kai Daryanani and Nina Gademan at the weekend (October 4-6).
In the final qualifying session of the season, Alex and Kai both showed strong pace in the early stages, running within the top ten. However, Alex’s momentum was cut short when he had contact and a red flag halted the session with 11 minutes remaining, just as he was on pace for a potential top 10 result. A second red flag came out with 40 seconds left and the session was not restarted, meaning in the end, Kai qualified 13th, Nina 18th, and Alex 20th.
Race one unfolded under sunny skies. Kai got off to a solid start, gaining one position on the opening lap, while both Nina and Alex made impressive moves, each climbing three places. Kai continued his charge, making up another spot at the end of the pit straight, but the race was interrupted by a Safety Car with just five minutes to go, and would finish behind it. Despite this, Kai secured a strong top 10 finish, crossing the line in eighth, while Nina and Alex finished in 14th and 16th, respectively.
Race two, originally cancelled from the previous event at Silverstone, brought an extra opportunity for the drivers. Alex had a strong start, staying close to Nina as they raced off the line. By the end of the first lap, Kai had impressively gained five places, while Alex made up three, though Nina unfortunately fell back two spots. When the chequered flag was waved, all three drivers delivered solid performances, with Alex finishing 10th, while Kai crossed the line in 12th, just ahead of Nina, who secured 13th.
Race three was unfortunately cut short after a promising start for the team. Nina had an excellent launch off the line, gaining two places in the opening laps, while Alex also made solid progress. Kai, meanwhile, was holding his position, running where he started as the field began to settle. However, the race was interrupted on lap four by a Safety Car, and then a red flag which brought the race to an early end. Despite the strong starts, the race was not restarted, leaving all three drivers unable to capitalise on their early gains and only half championship points awarded.
The final race of the season unfolded under tricky conditions, with rain adding an extra layer of challenge. Alex made a strong start, gaining a place right, but the action was quickly interrupted by a Safety Car on lap two, which soon led to a red flag. After a brief delay, the race was restarted for a new duration of 18 minutes, and Alex opted to stay on slick tyres while the rest of the field changed to wets.
Nina and Kai both made up a couple of positions at the start, however, Nina was overtaken at the first corner on lap three, just before another Safety Car. Seizing the moment, Alex pitted to switch to wet tyres and when the safety car came in, just 2.5 minutes of racing remained, setting the stage for a dramatic final sprint to the finish. In a fantastic result, Kai secured 6th place, while Alex managed a brilliant recovery drive to finish 12th, and Nina crossed the line in 14th after a challenging race.
As the 2024 F4 British Championship season drew to a close, Fortec Motorsports and its drivers’ demonstrated perseverance throughout a weekend of both triumphs and trials. The drivers gained invaluable experience over the season, and the team now looks ahead to 2025, with its plans and driver announcements to follow in due course.
Alex Berg – #48
Race 1: Start – 20 Result – 15
Race 2: Start – 13 Result – 10
Race 3: Start – 20 Result – 15
Race 4: Start – 19 Result – 12
Championship: 14 (63 Points)
“It’s another difficult weekend behind me and not how I wanted to cap off the championship, but it’s how it’s been for the whole year. We were decent in practice, and I hadn’t driven Brands GP before, so it was a bit of an uphill battle. Unfortunately, I threw it off in qualifying which meant I started from P20 in the three races, apart from the makeup round. For race three, we decided to take a gamble to go on slicks, which didn’t end up working out. One on wets, within two laps, I went from P18 to P12 which was a nice way to finish. This year has been a challenge, but I’m happy to say I completed a full season in British F4 and hopefully in the future, things will turn upwards.”
Kai Daryanani – #8
Race 1: Start – 12 Result – 8
Race 2: Start – 17 Result – 12
Race 3: Start – 13 Result – 13
Race 4: Start – 12 Result – 6
Championship: 12 (93 Points)
“We had a difficult qualifying as there was a small technique that I needed to have adjusted, which would have made a big difference, and that’s sort of the thing I’m going to take forward. Race one wasn’t too bad – there were one or two things that I could have done better, in terms of going for moves, but we still finished P8 from P12. Race two was a bit more difficult because I had tried to make a move on someone around the outside, and just didn’t quite get it done, which made me lose momentum and the race was abandoned halfway through. The last race was really solid and a good end to the year, so a big thank you for taking everyone involved. The team did a really good job putting the car together for the final race, I had a good start, went for it, kept it clean, and drove it home to P6 which was really solid. Everyone’s been so supportive and helped me learn so much this year. I’ve had a lot of fun.”
Nina Gademan – #3
Race 1: Start – 18 Result – 14 (Rookie 7)
Race 2: Start – 11 Result – 13 (Rookie 5)
Race 3: Start – 18 Result – 12 (Rookie 5)
Race 4: Start – 17 Result – 14 (Rookie 5)
Championship: 18 (28 Points)
Rookie Cup: 7 (179 Points)
“We had a difficult start to the weekend but overall, it’s been quite positive. We didn’t have the pace at the beginning, and I couldn’t match my teammates, but in races two and race three we matched their lap times which was really good. I made up positions in every contest apart from the Silverstone race that was rescheduled. I had some good overtakes and solid races, so it was a good way to end the season. I’ve really enjoyed this year and learned a lot, and I thank the team for that. They have helped make me ready for the next steps in my career.”
