Ninovic gets half points at Snetterton for winning rain-hit British F4 race

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Ninovic won a rain-disrupted final British Formula 4 race of the weekend at Snetterton.

There was just over a quarter of the race left to run when a sudden downpour hit the Norfolk circuit and many drivers were sent spinning onto the grass. Red flags waved and there was no restart, meaning Ninovic took his second win after just five laps of track action.

It was a tough race for points leader Deagan Fairclough, who was on the attack off the line. He managed to get alongside Ninovic and almost take the lead, then another attempt at a move resulted in him being forced wide through an advertising board, damaging his rear wing.

At the same time, a spin for Leo Robinson left him stranded at the side of the track and the safety car was brought out.

By this point, Ninovic was leading Jack Sherwood and James Higgins. He had a good restart on lap four, and within a handful of laps had a small gap to Sherwood. Behind the top two, there was a train of drivers running close together, but few overtakes would be made.

The closest battle was between Ella Lloyd and Zack Scoular outside the top 10. Just as the rain was starting to come down, Lloyd was sent over the kerbs and spun out.

Soon, a number of other drivers were spinning onto the grass as they struggled with grip in the wet conditions, and once the race was halted the results were taken back to the end of lap five so the spinners returned to their previous positions.

Ninovic was joined on the podium by Sherwood and Higgins, with Joel Bergstrom taking his best finish of the season in fourth. Reza Seewooruthun and Rowan Campbell-Pilling took fifth and sixth, ahead of Abbi Pulling and Mika Abrahams.

The shortened race distance meant only half-points were awarded, which means Fairclough leaves Snetterton with a 34-point lead over Higgins.

Prior to the race, Chris Dittmann Racing’s Bart Harrison was excluded from the meeting for violating C1.1.9, which is “abusive language or behaviour, physical assault or threats of physical assault within the area under control of the organising club”.

Race results (5 laps)