Molnar takes British F4 lead by winning heavily disrupted Thruxton race

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Martin Molnar became British Formula 4 chamionship leader by claiming his maiden victory in a disrupted first race of the weekend at Thruxton.

Red flags and a late safety car period neutralised running and left the field with limited time to actually battle for position.

A strong start by Molnar got him into the lead on lap one, and the Virtuosi Racing driver was unchallenged thereon.

There was immediate drama for Rodin Motorsport’s James Piszcyk and Fortec Motorsports’ Thomas Ingram Hill, with one coming to a stop at the first chicane and the other at the complex. 

Racing continued as marshals dealt with their cars, but it was only a few more laps before a more significant incident disrupted running. 

Argenti Motorsport’s August Raber had an issue with his rear-right tyre, spun at the first chicane and collected Rodin’s Ella Lloyd. Her team-mate Adam Al Azhari was also caught up in the incident and Argenti’s Ethan Jeff-Hall was forced to pit after making contact. The safety car was brought out, and when rain began to fall the race was red flagged. 

Before the drama, Molnar had built a comfortable gap back to Hitech GP’s Leo Robinson, who had Fortec’s poleman Henry Joslyn and Hitech’s pre-race points leader Fionn Mclaughlin close behind.

Three laps had been in the books but it was brought back to zero for the restart. Molnar had a good lauch, keeping Robinson behind him on the first lap while Joslyn and McLaughlin battled. Before Robinson could try to make a move, racing was neutralised due to a multi-car incident.

There were multiple spinners and drivers were forced to go wide to avoid a stationary car on circuit. Henry Mercier (Argenti), Thomas Bearman (Hitech) and Joel Bergstrom (JHR Developments) were eliminated, and Xcel Motorsports’ drivers Yuhao Fu, Cole Hewetson and Chase Fernandez were also caught up in the incident.

There was not enough time to clear the incident to enable a restart, so the safety car led the field until the chequered flag waved after lap five. Full points were awarded.

A difficult opening lap dropped Virtuosi’s debutant Salim Hanna Hernandez from second on the grid to sixth. He recovered one spot to finish ahead of Xcel’s Theo Palmer and JHR’s Rowan Campbell-Pilling.

Fortec’s Ary Bansal, another driver making his British F4 debut, finished eighth.

Race results (5 laps)