Kanato Le takes first British F4 win in Brands Hatch race split into two

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Kenato Le took his maiden British Formula 4 win in the opening race of the weekend on Brands Hatch’s Indy layout.

A lengthy safety car period and red flags disrupted running, almost giving William Macintyre the chance to take the victory, but it was Le who emerged on top. 

Rain before the start of the race left the track wet and conditions tricky for the 20-car field. Le got a strong start from third on the grid, but couldn’t find a way past Daniel Guinchard off the line.

Guinchard stormed past poleman James Higgins to take the race lead, before a wide moment dropped him down the order. Le was then promoted into the lead, with Higgins close behind.  

Before Higgins could attack to reclaim first place before the end of the lap, Gabriel Stilp ran wide at Clark Corner, bringing out the safety car. It was a lengthy stoppage but, at the halfway point of the 20-minute race, the track went green again. 

Higgins couldn’t challenge Le on the restart and came under attack from Macintyre and the charging Louis Sharp behind. Sharp managed to squeeze past Macintyre before red flags were waved as Josh Irfan and Sonny Smith ran off at Paddock Hill Bend. 

The order was put back a lap ready for a restart, promoting Macintyre back to third.

The second part of the race was a five-minute dash, and Macintyre stormed into the lead on the opening lap, with Le and Deagen Fairclough close behind. Le managed to squeeze back ahead and pulled away from Macintyre who was left battling with Fairclough.

The Esports convert had charged through from the back of the grid, setting the fastest lap of the race as he closed the gap to less than 0.2 seconds, but couldn’t find a way past the Hitech driver. Le won by 1.6s ahead of his team-mate, while MacIntyre was half a second ahead of Fairclough. 

Higgins held on to fourth ahead of Guinchard, who recovered from the earlier spin to fifth. Sharp had been battling at the front in the restarted race, but a wide moment at Druids sent him into the gravel and retirement. 

Aqil Alibhai managed to get ahead of James Piszcyk to take sixth while Aiden Neate, Dion Gowda and Gustav Jonsson completed the top 10. 

Race results (13 laps)