After sitting out the previous round at Knockhill in July, Chris Dittmann Racing returned to action at Snetterton in Norfolk for races 19, 20 and 21 of the F4 British Championship at the weekend (13/14 August).
Fielding two cars for the first time this season with championship debutants Jack Sherwood and Divy Nandan, the team’s focus was on the learning and development of the two young drivers, and translating their hard work on the sim into on track experience. Despite it being the pair’s first real taste of the Tatuus T-421 car, Jack brought home an impressive top ten finish whilst Divy continued to show great progression throughout the weekend.
After an off for Divy in Friday’s practice session, the Indian racer’s confidence had been dented, and as such, he found it difficult to push the car in qualifying and crossed the line 17th fastest. Coming from the GB4 Championship, Jack had been working on adapting his driving style to suit the new car, and managed to place himself 14th on the grid where he would line up for all three races.
With race one approaching and temperatures soaring to over 30C, the conditions would be an added challenge for the teenagers on their debut race. It was an unfortunate start for Divy as he stalled off the line, he finished his race where he started in 17th. Despite that, the seat time allowed the team to pinpoint areas for improvement for the 19-year-old which they could take into the rest of the weekend. Jack dropped back into 15th on the start, before a mistake from Ugo Ugochukwu allowed him to retake his position. Launching into a race long back and forth with Ugochukwu, the youngster showed his potential to battle with the championship’s big names, where he eventually crossed the line 14th ahead of the Rookie Cup leader.
It was a better start for both on race two, with Divy up three places into 14th and Jack up two into 12th on the opening lap. Making the most of mistakes from other drivers, Divy was firmly in the fight with Daniel Mavlyutov, as the pair engaged in a clean battle for most of the twenty minute contest. The young Indian driver took the flag in 16th position. After the busy opening lap, Jack settled into 12th and was keeping pace with the two Virtuosi cars, before making it through into 11th where he crossed the line.
With an impressive start to race three, Jack rocketed into the top ten on the opening lap. Keeping his head down, the 16-year-old managed to sail past drama between Joseph Loake and Daniel Guinchard to take eighth, where he kept pace with the midfielders. Loake was hot on his tail before eventually making the move to retake the position, with Jack finishing in ninth. After recovering from another stall on the grid, an incident between Louis Sharp and Aiden Neate had the pair tumble down the order, promoting Divy into 15th. After managing to maintain the position for the majority of the race, the youngster conceded on the closing lap, crossing the line 16th.
Overall it was a positive weekend for Chris Dittmann Racing, with the clear progression in both Jack and Divy a testament to the hard work and focus of the entire team. There is now a week long break before heading to Thruxton for rounds 22, 23 and 24 of the F4 British Championship next weekend (August 27/28).
Jack Sherwood, #78
G1 – 14 , R1 – 14
G2 – 14 , R2 – 11
G3 – 14 , R3 – 9
Championship: 17 (5 points)
“Qualifying wasn’t too bad. We didn’t get a very long run on our second set of new tyres, so that kind of hindered us a bit. It was my first British F4 qualifying, so I was happy with how it went.
“For race one, I knew it was gonna be quite tricky to overtake because the dirty air at Snetterton is quite bad. I went into it with the view that I wouldn’t push too hard to gain any positions, but try not to lose any either. It was my first time following others in this car, so I didn’t know how it would react to the conditions which was quite tricky. The pace was strong at the end and I felt like I was in the mix with some really good racers.
“Race two was good. The first lap was a bit mental as it was so compact, but the racing was very respectful. After that the race settled down into a rhythm. The two Virtuosi cars who were on either side of us had new left side tyres, so I knew they were going to be quite fast, but towards the end of the race, they just seemed to drop away and I made the most of it. It was a good result, one more position and we could have been in the points which was promising.
“Race three went really well. We got a good start on the first lap and then just tried to make up as many positions as I could. Because the cars are quite tricky to follow, I knew it was going to be important to make up the positions on the first lap, then I just settled into the race. We had the pace to be in the top five, so that’s really encouraging moving forward. Towards the end, I went wide and let Joseph Loake past to take eighth, but besides that I’m happy with race three.
“Every time we’ve gone out we’ve gained a massive amount of time and positions. I’ve settled in with the team really well, and I’m enjoying working with them. Coming from GB4, it’s definitely a different driving style. With the halo it’s a bit heavier, so you have to wait a bit longer for the car to rotate, but I love the car and I’m looking forward to driving it again. The team have helped me massively, Josh Skelton and the engineers have been mega with me. It was so last minute but we’ve adapted quite well to the circumstances. Overall, I’m really happy with the weekend.”
Divy Nandan, #55
G1 – 17, R1 – 17
G2 – 17, R2 – 16
G3 – 17, R3 – 16
Championship: 18 (1 point)
“I underperformed in qualifying. I had a big shunt in practice and it definitely knocked my confidence. It could have been worse but I wasn’t pushing to my limit.
“Race one was a bit of a disaster because I stalled on the grid and then just had no pace, but race two improved as I managed to get off the line much better. I made it past two cars on the run down to turn one, then I kept it clean and finished the race in one piece.
“There’s a lot of positives to take from race three, but I’m disappointed that I stalled on the start. I think we had the potential to have been much further up the grid. We still had a decent race and made some improvements which is what I’m here to do.
“Being out in the car and getting more seat time has been helping me to build my confidence, especially at high speeds. There is a lot to improve on, but we’re seeing little improvements every time we go out. The cars are a lot more technical than most in India, but we have improved massively, so hopefully next round we’ll have some decent points on the board.”
Chris Dittmann, Team Owner
Team’s Cup: 6 (28 points)
“For Divy, it was all about learning and development this weekend. It wasn’t the best start, with his crash in Friday’s practice, but we worked on regaining his confidence after that. He had a really solid race three in the fight with Daniel [Mavlyutov] for a lot of it, with a huge improvement in lap time as well. We’re really pleased with his development over the weekend.
“For Jack to jump straight in at this level and finish ninth in the last race was a really solid performance. It’s a new car to him and to learn as much as he has in the short space of time is a testament to his ability and our work as a team. We’re very happy with how the weekend has gone.
“Divy will have another test day next week alongside a few other drivers doing some general testing for next year. Then it’s on to Thruxton, so it’s non stop for the team.”
