Chris Dittmann Racing enjoyed a pair of podium visits in the F4 British Championship at the weekend (June 14-16), as Bart Harrison took two second-place Rookie Cup finishes.

The team was bolstered by the series return for F1 Academy and GT racer Carrie Schreiner, and she and Bart had two free practice sessions in mixed conditions on Friday, before qualifying on Saturday morning.

Carrie stayed on wet tyres throughout the session after a couple of heavy showers fell during the morning, though Bart opted to switch to slicks which paid off when the chequered flag was waved as he finished P9 whilst the German racer finished P21.

Unfortunately, Bart had to start from the pitlane for the first race, before there was a Safety Car on lap two. The action resumed with 11 minutes to go as the Rookie racer gained a few places to finish 17th overall, while Carrie kept it clean as she built up track knowledge, crossing the line 21st.

For the partially reverse grid race two, Bart lined up fourth on Sunday morning, but unfortunately fell to eighth on the opening lap. He regained one spot as cars went off at Becketts, going into Vale he was able to recover another, and took a third to run fifth before an incident caused a Safety Car. He crossed the line in that position, but after the race he was judged to have gained the last spot under yellow and was classified sixth, second of the Rookies and scoring his fourth podium of the year. Carrie had a clean race fighting to avoid collisions happening around her and would cross the line 18th.

Bart drove brilliantly in race three as he had a good start off the line and was close behind the cars ahead. After a couple of Safety Cars, he made some impressive overtakes and successfully crossed the line to achieve another second place out of the Rookies and ninth overall. Carrie was also up six places into 15th in the opening stages, however she dropped back towards the end but, on her first weekend back in British F4, grew in confidence throughout.

The team will now have a four-week break before returning to the F4 British Championship at Zandvoort in July, while the GB3 Championship side of the workshop heads to the Hungaroring next weekend (June 21-23).

Bart Harrison – #77

G1 – 8 R1 – 17 (Rookie: 6)

G2 – 4 R2 – 6 (R: 2)

G3 – 12 R3 – 9 (R: 2)

Championship: 17 (11 points)

Rookie Cup: 6 (91 points)

“It was a good result in qualifying but unfortunately, we had to start from the pitlane for the first race. Once we caught the pack it was alright, and I made a couple places but didn’t manage to get to the points because of the Safety Car. We were fifth fastest and I had traffic to get through, so it puts us in a good position for Sunday.

“My start wasn’t my best for race two and the Safety Car didn’t help, but we made the most of it after when it went back in. Race three my start was a lot better, and the Safety Car slowed it down again, but we made a couple of places and scored good points for the championship. We were fast in testing, so I’m looking forward to racing in Zandvoort.”

Carrie Schreiner – #77

G1 – 20 R1 – 21

G2 – 21 R2 – 18

G3 – 21 R3 – 19

Championship: 23 (3 points)

“It was a difficult weekend for me without any testing and not driving as much as everyone else and the rain made it quite difficult. In the first race, I did my first laps of the weekend in the dry, so it was to be expected that I was a little off the pace, but it was good practice.

“Races two and three were a bit tricky, but m target was to get more driving time for my next F1 Academy race and in that regard the weekend was a success. I am looking forward to Zandvoort as it will be a completely different story, I’m sure.”