Fortec Motorsports returned to the podium in the Wera Tools F4 British Championship, Certified by FIA, as Ary Bansal scored a third-place finish at Knockhill over the weekend (August 15-17).
The team were on site on Friday for practice sessions, before qualifying took place early the following morning. A red flag halted some of the early runs, and as the chequered flag came out, Ary finished sixth quickest, with teammate Henry Joslyn fifth.
Lining up for race one on the second fastest times in qualifying, Ary was fourth and Henry 16th, though the former would have a tough time, ultimately classified 11th, while Henry gained two places to finish 14th as the contest was halted early due to a red flag.
Race two started under sunny skies on Sunday morning, but it would be short lived for Henry as he had to take to the grass to avoid another car, which sent him spinning into another competitor, ending his race on the spot. After the Safety Car was called to clean up the incident, Ary battled hard and took a fifth-place finish for his efforts, though would be penalised one position after the race.
The Safety Car was called quickly to start race three, as a car stalled off the line, Ary running fifth and Henry 11th, with the racing resuming two laps later. Ary would have to defend under pressure, doing a good job to position his car and keep his place, while behind Henry took two positions before the Safety Car returned to the track. On the restart Henry moved into eighth, while Ary came under pressure again, but continued to defend well.
In the closing stages there was drama as two cars came together, Ary capitalising to take third and Henry moving into fourth. With a red flag being shown with a few minutes on the clock, it capped a good end to the weekend for the team.
Everyone at Fortec Motorsports will be looking to carry the positive momentum onwards to Donington Park in two weeks’ time, for the next three races in Wera Tools British F4, while this coming weekend (August 23/24) the GB4 Championship heads to Brands Hatch in Kent.
#26 Henry Joslyn
Grid 1 – 16, Race 1 – 14
Grid 2 – 15, Race 2 – DNF
Grid 3 – 15, Race 3 – 4
Championship: 4 (149 points)
#46 Ary Bansal
Grid 1 – 4, Race 1 – 11
Grid 2 – 7, Race 2 – 6
Grid 3 – 6, Race 3 – 3
Challenge Cup: 3 (175 points)
