Fortec Motorsports enjoyed a successful weekend in the Wera Tools F4 British Championship certified by FIA, as Ary Bansal claimed his maiden series victory, while Henry Joslyn added a podium finish at Zandvoort.
Henry, Ary, and Thomas Ingram Hill completed two practice sessions on Friday, 25 July, to familiarise themselves with the 2.6-mile circuit – home of the Dutch Grand Prix – ahead of qualifying on Saturday morning. Continuing his strong run of form, Henry secured pole position for race one, Ary earned pole for race two, and Tom delivered a solid performance as he continues his development in the series.
In the opening race that afternoon, Henry unfortunately suffered a slow start from pole and dropped to fourth but fought back to reclaim third before the Safety Car was deployed, while Ary had progressed to 12th and Tom to 19th. On the restart, Henry held firm to secure the final podium position, Ary battled to the flag for seventh, and Tom displayed strong racecraft to finish 14th. “I had wheelspin which put me back,” said Henry. “But we showed good pace and could easily stay with the top two and pull away from the rest of the field.”
Sunday morning’s race two was red flagged early on due to an incident and later restarted as an 18-minute sprint. Ary made a strong getaway and, after absorbing early pressure, delivered a commanding drive to secure his first British F4 victory, finishing over three seconds clear. “It feels very good,” said Ary. “The start was good, there was a bit of battling early on, but I managed to pull away.”
Running 10th in the early stages, Henry capitalised on a fight ahead to gain one position before expertly passing two rivals in a single corner to move into sixth. Unfortunately, his race ended prematurely following contact in the closing minutes. Tom also delivered a composed drive and made steady progress to finish 11th.
The final 25-minute contest was disrupted by both Safety Cars and red flags. After an early intervention, Henry ran wide at the final corner, losing momentum and falling to eighth, while Tom had been making progress in 15th before the Safety Car returned. Racing resumed with eight minutes remaining, Ary and Tom battling for 13th before another Safety Car was deployed. Just half a lap of racing remained when the red flag brought the event to an early conclusion, with Henry classified eighth, Ary 13th, and Tom 14th.
Fortec Motorsports returns to Wera Tools British F4 action on 16–17 August, as the championship heads to the picturesque and undulating Knockhill circuit in Scotland.
#26 Henry Joslyn
Grid 1 – 1, Race 1 – 3
Grid 2 – 10, Race 2 – DNF
Grid 3 – 3, Race 3 – 8
Championship: 4 (137 points)
#46 Ary Bansal
Grid 1 – 12, Race 1 – 8
Grid 2 – 1, Race 2 – 1
Grid 3 – 12, Race 3 – 13
Challenge Cup: 5 (120 points)
#8 Thomas Ingram Hill
Grid 1 – 19, Race 1 – 14
Grid 2 – 18, Race 2 – 11
Grid 3 – 18, Race 3 – 14
Challenge Cup: 7 (44 points)
