Photo: AU4
Noah Killion won twice in round four of AU4’s season at Sydney Motorsport Park.
He was comfortably quickest in the first qualifying session, taking pole by 0.5623 seconds over title rival Isaac McNeill. Harrison Duske was 0.936s behind in third, and Andrew Fitzpatrick topped the class for first-generation Formula 4 cars.
McNeill went faster in Q2 to claim race three pole, leading Duske by 0.215s and Killion by 0.2371s. Fitzpatrick was top Gen1 runner again by 0.1359s over Jensen Marold.
Race one later in the day was delayed by cleaning up oil on track, leaving it covered in cement dust. Cohen Kokotovich stalled from fourth, and McNeill tried going around Killion’s outside at turn two. He attempted again at turn four, which gave him the inside for turn five where he got ahead.
Chloe Lane spun before the final corner and stopped, which led to the safety car being called on lap two just as she got going again. That disrupted the Gen1 lead battle, which continued after the lap four restart while Kokotovich recovered to sixth.
Marold passed Fitzpatrick at turn two on lap five, and McNeill almost took the overall lead when lap six began as Kokotovich dropped to eighth.
A big turn two crash for JesseJames Samuels meant the safety car returned at the end of lap eight, and two laps remained when racing resumed.
Kokotovich had recovered to sixth but now dropped to 13th, and McNeill locked up at turn two but was still able to edge ahead of Killion at the end of the penultimate lap.
Killion had the inside line for turn one and reclaimed the lead, which he would not relinquish, while Marold gapped himself from Fitzpatrick. Lane recovered to 10th, ahead of Kokotovich.
The race one fastest lap put Killion on race two pole the next day, and he converted it into victory again.
However he lost the lead almost immediately, as McNeill had the inside for the opening corner. They went side-by-side there on lap two and McNeill flew off, managing to avoid the barriers by spinning and then returning to track at the back.
Jamie Lee-Su spun off at turn one, and only returned to the asphalt after race control summoned the safety car.
The field was released again on lap four, and Kokotovich went down Duske’s inside at turn two for second. Killion rapidly pulled away, and only the inside line kept Kokotovich in second into turn one on lap six.
Duske tried the first two corners again on lap seven, then got back ahead later in the lap. Soon Kokotovich was in 13th, as he stopped after turn one on lap eight.
Meanwhile McNeill had got up to ninth on the restart lap, was seventh next time by, and in sixth by lap six. He went past Kokotovich’s car while passing Nathan Gotch, then hunted down Brock Burton.
He squeezed past on the inside at turn two on lap 11, but went deep and Burton reclaimed third. McNeill was ahead again by turn four, and kept it despite a five-second penalty. De’Argo Stewart crashed approaching the last corner with a lap remaining but it proved non-disruptive.
McNeill made a great start to race three, and Samuels spun at turn two again. The action heated up on lap eight as a wide moment for McNeill put Duske on his gearbox and Burton spun in fifth yet kept the position.
Duske started slowing at turn two on lap 12 and had to retire in the pits. It left McNeill with a 2.1s lead, but Killion cut it to 0.36s before he got a five-second penalty. Kokotovich was third, and the Gen1 win was settled in new champion Marold’s favour on lap two.
Results round-up
Race 1 (13 laps)
1 Noah Killion AGI Sport 28m00.3009s
2 Isaac McNeill Volante Rosso +0.4482s
3 Harrison Duske Tim Macrow Racing +2.1732s
4 Brock Burton +3.0936s
5 Nathan Gotch AGI Sport +6.4430s
6 Jensen Marold AGI Sport +7.6790s
7 Andrew Fitzpatrick Fitzpatrick Racing +9.4177s
8 Georgia Morgan Tim Macrow Racing +12.2530s
9 Koby Wilson AGI Sport +13.0264s
10 Chloe Lane Tim Macrow Racing +13.2858s
Pole: Killion, 1m30.5201s
Fastest lap: Killion, 1m32.1807s
Race 2 (14 laps)
1 Killion 27m25.8822s
2 Duske +2.3775s
3 McNeill +19.9020s
4 Burton +20.0925s
5 Gotch +28.0597s
6 Marold +32.8512s
7 Fitzpatrick +40.5841s
8 Wilson +41.5113s
9 Cohen Kokotovich AGI Sport +41.9704s
10 Lane +54.3950s
FL: Killion, 1m31.6935s
Race 3 (15 laps)
1 McNeill 26m40.8962s
2 Killion +5.3618s
3 Kokotovich +12.1562s
4 Burton +20.5641s
5 Marold +44.0924s
6 Fitzpatrick +55.9040s
7 Wilson +58.4944s
8 Morgan +1m08.0264s
9 Lane +1m09.1231s
10 De’argo Stwart AGI Sport +1m22.1458s
P: McNeill, 1m30.3789s
FL: Killion, 1m31.7891s
Championship standings
Gen2 1 Killion 247 2 McNeill 229 3 Duske 181 4 Imogen Radburn 123 5 Kokotovich 118 6 Burton 106 7 Morgan 60 8 Gotch 20
Gen1 1 Marold 313 2 Fitzpatrick 198 3 Wilson 180 4 Lane 122 5 De’Argo Stewart 110 6 JesseJames Samuels 101 7 Lawrence Katsidis 48 8 Xavier Babbage Hocke 42 9 Nicholas Filipetto 20 10 Jamie Lee-Su 20