Chris Dittmann Racing had a solid weekend in the F4 British Championship (August 26/27), scoring an overall podium with Gustav Jonsson and claiming two Rookie Cup victories as well.

Lining up with the Swedish racer and Jack Sherwood – at his local circuit of Donington Park – once again, both drivers had to contend with an added 30-minute delay before qualifying, as barrier repairs were needed after the prior BTCC session. Working their way up the order, Gustav finished eighth and Jack tenth, despite a late red flag disrupting their runs.

Gustav started race one well, moving into third and battling for second into turn one, but was passed and settled into fourth at the end of the lap, while Jack fell back to 15th, before the Safety Car was called. When racing resumed Gustav gained third with a move into Redgate while Jack was also on the move, climbing up to 13th on the penultimate lap, while Gustav claimed the Rookie win as well as an overall podium – his second of the season.

The second race of the day was the rescheduled contest from Snetterton, where Gustav started 17th and Jack 11th. The former gained three places by the time he came out of turn one and was into 11th by lap five, while Jack also moved up two places on the opening lap. In clear air, Gustav then set the race’s fastest lap and jumped into eighth, relegating Jack back one spot to tenth in the process, while setting after the Rookie Cup leader, getting past on the final lap. With track limits penalties then applied to a few drivers, he was classified fifth, with Jack in ninth.

In wet weather on Sunday morning, both drivers started the reverse grid race well, with Gustav gaining eight places, but sadly he came together with Josh Irfan on lap two, with both cars ending in the gravel. Jack gained nine places and was up to sixth as the Safety Car was called and when racing resumed, he had a superb lap, battling side by side with Will Macintyre, moving into third position, and quickly closing in on second. Unfortunately, on the penultimate lap he was on the outside of Isaac Barashi who spun in front of him, causing damage to his front wing and eliminating him from the contest.

For the final race, Jack lined up ninth and Gustav 13th having been given a grid penalty for the contact in race three, reduced to 18 minutes after a car broke down on the formation lap. Both drivers started well, though Jack took contact from Noah Lisle at the end of the opening lap, crossing the line eighth, taking a puncture which sent him wide at the Old Hairpin, before he came into the pits to change the tyre. Gustav also had a tough time just afterwards, losing time after contact from Dion Gowda and dropping to 19th.

The Safety Car was called, helping both drivers catch up to the back of the pack, with the race resuming with just over four minutes remaining, but with another car going off, the contest was red flagged and would not restart, leaving Gustav 14th and Jack 18th.

There will now be a six-week break in action for the F4 British Championship, before the final round of the season on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit over the weekend of October 7/8, while the team returns to racing in the GB3 Championship, again at Brands Hatch, over September 9/10.

Gustav Jonsson, #23

G1 – 4, R1 – 3 (Rookie: 1)
G2 – 17, R2 – 5 (R: 1)
G3 – 13, R3 – NC
G4 – 13, R4 – 14 (R: 4)

Championship: 11 (128 points)
Rookie Cup: 1 (438 points)

“The weekend, pace wise, was very good. Qualifying was both good and bad. We had the pace to be a bit higher up, but it was still a good result. Race one starting P4, I had good speed, made a good start, and tried a move on P2 which didn’t really work out, so I dropped back to P4. After the Safety Car we managed to get past [Freddie] Slater and finished P3. The ‘Snetterton’ race was also good. Starting last, since we had a technical issue in qualifying there, we made a good start and had incredible speed. I got up to P5 and had the fastest lap – we were charging really, really hard.

“On Sunday morning in the wet we had another good start, jumped probably five or six people and then unfortunately, a mistake I made at the beginning of the second lap caused me to DNF, so that was a big disappointment as we definitely would have been able to challenge for the top three positions. In the last race, we once again had speed, but it was really hard to overtake as there was lots of battles, and then unfortunately, we got taken and spun around by another driver. We could have been in the top ten, even though we started a bit further back.

“The pace was strong all weekend and I really enjoyed it. We’re still in the lead of the Rookie championship and we are a good team, so hopefully we’ll be as fast at Brands Hatch, and I think we can secure the title.”

Jack Sherwood, #78

G1 – 13, R1 – 13
G2 – 11, R2 – 9
G3 – 15, R3 – 19
G4 – 9, R4 – 18

Championship: 15 (72 points)

“My weekend was almost great. The pace wasn’t too bad as since the summer break we’ve been competitive. This weekend we showed with the reverse grid and the overall pace that we can fight in the top ten, so it’s hard to take. We came really close to so many times, but it was a bit tough.

“The pace was good in qualifying, we just got a bit unfortunate with the track limits, which took away a time which I think would have put us P6. Race one I didn’t drive well, so that was my fault, but the pace when we were in traffic was really good. The Snetterton race wasn’t too bad. I went for a move on one of the Hitechs which didn’t quite pay off, but once again, the pace was strong, and we got a few points, so that’s always a positive.

“On Sunday morning sadly another driver’s mistake cost us, so that one was tough to take because we had been pretty much flawless most of the race. In the final one, we all race so close out there, it’s just one of those things that I got tagged and unfortunately had a rear left puncture, and that dropped us right back. We made a bit of an impression after the Safety Car restart, but the race was then red flagged.

“It was quite a frustrating weekend considering we had so much pace and so much potential, but the results just didn’t come. We’ve had a great car and I’m looking forward to Brands Hatch. We know we have the pace so let’s see what we can do there.”