Loake storms to Oulton Park race three victory after lightening start
JHR Developments’ Joseph Loake made the most of his mega fast reactions to claim victory in race three of the British F4 weekend at Oulton Park, adding a second win to his 2021 campaign and keeping his name in the championship conversation as we approach the midway point of the season.
Loake surged past championship leader James Hedley into Old Hall to claim a lead that wouldn’t be relinquished. Hedley meanwhile slipped down to fifth on the opening lap and would even succumb to late race pressure from title rival Matthew Rees to eventually cross the line in sixth place.
Meanwhile back at the sharp end, it was Matias Zagazeta that scored a fantastic second place and recording some form of redemption after a tough opening two races of the weekend. That podium wasn’t secured until after a thrilling dice with Carlin’s Roman Bilinski and even slipping past Eduardo Coseteng to claim the second step.
Bilinski came home in third place to record his first podium of the season, finishing ahead of his rookie team mate Dougie Bolger who played a starring role in the race to finish in fourth and claim his first rookie cup victory, finishing ahead of Matthew Rees in fifth.
Coseteng would wind up in seventh place, which would be the best result for the Phinsys by Argenti rookie since the season opener at Thruxton. Kai Askey finished in eighth and once again claimed some points for Carlin, with Aiden Neate again showing incredible pace in ninth place to also claim the fastest lap and the extra point that comes with that.
Joel Granfors survived a spin at Island hairpin to claim the final points paying position in tenth with the lead Arden Motorsport runner of Zak Taylor finishing a further three seconds back of Granfors in eleventh spot.
Thomas Ikin battled through to twelfth place, with Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak in thirteenth. Race two winner Mckenzy Cresswell could only manage fourteenth place from the back of the grid, with David Morales and Abbi Pulling finishing just over a second apart in fifteenth and sixteenth, with the latter having a spin at the Knickerbrook chicane earlier in the race.
Marcos Flack was the last of the finishers, with Fortec Motorsport’s Oliver Gray and Richardson Racing’s sole entry of Georgi Dimitrov being the unfortunate retirees in what has been a relatively low attrition weekend for the series.
The championship heads north of the Scottish border for the next three rounds at Knockhill, Fife on 14-15 August.
Race 3 Classification
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joseph Loake | JHR Developments | 15 Laps |
| 2 | Matias Zagazeta | Phinsys by Argenti | + 2.027 |
| 3 | Roman Bilinski | Carlin | + 6.707 |
| 4 | Dougie Bolger (R) | Carlin | + 8.543 |
| 5 | Matthew Rees (R) | JHR Developments | + 9.396 |
| 6 | James Hedley | Fortec Motorsport | + 9.752 |
| 7 | Eduardo Coseteng (R) | Phinsys by Argenti | + 11.110 |
| 8 | Kai Askey (R) | Carlin | + 11.309 |
| 9 | Aiden Neate (R) | Phinsys by Argenti | + 11.403 |
| 10 | Joel Granfors | Fortec Motorsport | + 15.176 |
| 11 | Zak Taylor | Arden Motorsport | + 18.034 |
| 12 | Thomas Ikin (R) | Arden Motorsport | + 22.033 |
| 13 | Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak | Carlin | + 24.241 |
| 14 | Mckenzy Cresswell (R) | JHR Developments | + 24.945 |
| 15 | David Morales | Arden Motorsport | + 29.119 |
| 16 | Abbi Pulling | JHR Developments | + 30.429 |
| 17 | Marcos Flack (R) | Phinsys by Argenti | + 1:06.924 |
| 18 | Oliver Gray (R) | Fortec Motorsport | DNF |
| 19 | Georgi Dimitrov | Richardson Racing | DNF |
Championship Standings after Round 12 (Top 10)
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Hedley | Fortec Motorsport | 162 |
| 2 | Matthew Rees (R) | JHR Developments | 139 |
| 3 | Mckenzy Cresswell (R) | JHR Developments | 107 |
| 4 | Joseph Loake | JHR Developments | 87 |
| 5 | Matias Zagazeta | Phinsys by Argenti | 86 |
| 6 | Joel Granfors | Fortec Motorsport | 71 |
| 7 | Abbi Pulling | JHR Developments | 68 |
| 8 | Oliver Gray (R) | Fortec Motorsport | 68 |
| 9 | Zak Taylor | Arden Motorsport | 55 |
| 10 | Roman Bilinski | Carlin | 50 |