Home Formula 3GB3 Di Mauro claims first BRDC F4 pole at Brands Hatch

Di Mauro claims first BRDC F4 pole at Brands Hatch

by Peter Allen
Gaetano Di Mauro

Photo: BRDC F4

Gaetano di Mauro upset the BRDC F4 establishment by taking his first pole position in qualifying for the sixth round of the season at Brands Hatch.

The Brazilian Petroball Racing rookie won out in a dramatic session which first saw championship leader George Russell sustain damage early on that consigns him to the back of the grid, and then Silverstone treble winner Sennan Fielding trigger a red flag with an off at Paddock Hill Bend with nine minutes remaining.

At that stage, di Maruo had just gone to the top of the timing screens, and the top five places would remain the same after the restart.

Arjun Maini was pipped to pole by just 0.043 seconds, with his Lanan Racing team-mate Struan Moore taking third. Russell’s chief championship rival Raoul Hyman will start fourth, with Telmex-backed Rodrigo Fonseca a strong fifth.

Jordan Albert was a late improver to take sixth for the newly Caterham-backed SWR team, demoting Fielding to seventh. Chris Middlehurst, Gustavo Lima and Will Palmer completed the top ten.

Qualifying results
Pos Driver? Team Time? Gap Laps?
1 Gaetano di Mauro Petroball Racing 1:25.986 11
2 Arjun Maini Lanan Racing 1:26.029 0.043 13
3 Struan Moore Lanan Racing 1:26.116 0.130 14
4 Raoul Hyman HHC Motorsport 1:26.450 0.464 12
5 Rodrigo Fonseca Douglas Motorsport 1:26.528 0.542 14
6 Jordan Albert Sean Walkinshaw Racing 1:26.720 0.734 14
7 Sennan Fielding HHC Motorsport 1:26.820 0.834 7
8 Chris Middlehurst Mark Godwin Racing 1:26.877 0.891 14
9 Gustavo Lima Hillspeed 1:26.915 0.929 14
10 Will Palmer HHC Motorsport 1:26.925 0.939 13
11 Charlie Eastwood Douglas Motorsport 1:26.986 1.000 13
12 Tom Jackson Chris Dittmann Racing 1:27.103 1.117 13
13 Rahul Raj Mayer Hillspeed 1:27.162 1.176 14
14 Diego Menchaca Douglas Motorsport 1:27.204 1.218 13
15 Diego Borrelli Sean Walkinshaw Racing 1:27.680 1.694 14
16 Tom Bale Chris Dittmann Racing 1:27.917 1.931 13
17 Alfredo Zabalza Hillspeed 1:27.957 1.971 13
18 Michael Claessens Mark Godwin Racing 1:27.992 2.006 14
19 Connor Jupp Meridian Racing 1:28.456 2.470 6
20 Jai Nijjar Meridian Racing 1:30.521 4.535 13
21 George Russell Lanan Racing 1:30.885 4.899 2