HR Developments enjoyed further podium success in the F4 British Championship as teenager Abbi Pulling took a third-place finish in just her fourth race in the series, at a scorching hot Brands Hatch.
Traditionally the season's closing event, drivers tackled the famous Grand Prix circuit at the Kent venue under blue skies and difficult weather conditions, with air temperatures topping 30C across the weekend.
After having a relatively quiet run to fourth place for the first race on Saturday, 17-year old Abbi dug deep for race two, battling for the lead and defending from experienced rivals Luke Browning and Alex Connor to claim third place – equalling the highest finish for a female in the Championship.
It was a tough Saturday for title hopeful James Hedley however, as an engine problem outside of the team's control caused him to miss both qualifying and race one, also leaving him last on the grid for races two and three. From there he battled well to finish ninth and eighth, salvaging some valuable championship points which could prove important.
For Nathanael, after finishing 11th for the first two contests, he dug deep on Sunday to get past Frederick Lubin to cross the line just behind James in ninth position, scoring his first points of the season in just his sixth race in single seaters.
With the first back-to-back weekend of the compressed 2020 season now complete, JHR Developments has a two-week break in F4 British Championship action, returning to the track at Oulton Park in Cheshire over the weekend of August 21-23.
The team will be back out next weekend however, as it makes its first appearance in the BRDC British F3 Championship at Donington Park with 2019 F4 race winner Carter Williams and debutant Max Marzorati.
Abbi Pulling
Grid 1 – 4, Race 1 – 4
Grid 2 – 3, Race 2 – 3
Grid 3 – 7, Race 3 – 14
Championship: 8 (35 points)
“Overall, it's been a really good weekend. We had a positive qualifying session and I was P4. There was a bit more in the bag after looking at the data, but you know it is what is: it's my best qualifying performance in my second meeting in British F4, so it's not too shabby.
“The first race I started and finished P4 so it was quite a calm race. Race two was kind of the highlight of the weekend; I got my first podium and it’s not like it was an easy race either. I was pushing 100% from start to finish as I had two very experienced drivers behind me in Browning and Connor who have both raced at Brands Hatch in the past, whereas I'd only done one test day beforehand so you can't really complain about that, especially as we caught the leaders at the end as well.
“Race two, it's just really hard to overtake around this track so we were stuck in P11. It’s my fault for not getting past but the track had something to do with it as well. Race three I started P12 and I got off the line okay and we got past somebody at the start, and then the rest of the race we had a couple of retirements which helped a little bit and then we had one overtake which was enough to secure us P9 and finally got some points on the board.
“It was ridiculous in the car. Don't get me wrong I love the warm weather but it's so hard and the last couple of laps the tyres were going and I was going so it was just incredibly difficult. Looking ahead to Oulton Park, we’ve had one test day there in this car and are hoping to build on that. There’s still stuff to improve but I’m definitely happy going into that weekend.”
Steven Hunter, Team Principal
Championship: 4 (85 points)
“It was very hot and very sunny! Abbi was fabulous on Saturday taking third and fourth and equals the best position of a female driver in British F4 and I am sure this season there will be more to come with bigger trophies, so I look forward to seeing how she progresses.
“James had a good start to the weekend, and we were clearly quick but there were some problems within the engine which the builders were unable to resolve and that has created a nightmare weekend for him.
“Nate scored some points and he’ll be over the moon with that. We need to work on the qualifying side of things with him, but the race craft is getting there, the determination is getting there, and he’s becoming a racing driver rather than just a very, very nice chap!”
“Race three didn't really go our way – I messed up the start a little bit, but you know it's still a learning experience. It was annoying that we had a bit of contact on the last lap which put me down in 14th position because it would have been a good point scoring weekend if it wasn't for that. It is what it is and I'm happy.
“The pace is definitely there, and we've shown the lads that I'm here to win. I was speechless on Saturday and hopefully we can carry that to Oulton Park. We've been strong there in testing and I know that I've got the pace more so than Brands Hatch, so to come out with a podium at a track that I wasn't as confident in means it was a very positive weekend.”
James Hedley
Grid 1 – 15, Race 1 – DNS
Grid 2 – 15, Race 2 – 9
Grid 3 – 15, Race 3 – 8
Championship: 7 (41 points)
“Obviously, it wasn’t the best for us, it was just one of those weekends really. Missing qualifying really hurt us, missing race one hurt us even more. That put us on the back row for races two and three and it's always going to be a struggle around Brands Hatch, especially around the back where there is no opportunity to overtake.
“I think to come from last to eighth was a good result for us and some alright points to the weekend, and we made the most of a bad situation. Obviously, we're not looking for any more of these weekends anytime soon. I’m looking forward to Oulton Park now; in testing we seemed to be alright so as long as we have no issues it should be a much better weekend.”
Nathanael Hodgkiss
Grid 1 – 13, Race 1 – 11
Grid 2 – 11, Race 2 – 11
Grid 3 – 12, Race 3 – 9
Championship: 14 (2 points)
“The weekend was better than last time; I finished all three races which is a good start and finally scored some points. The first and second races were quite frustrating – the first race we had a really good start, but I unfortunately made a mistake and it put us right to the back of the grid, so it was more of a recovery job.
-JHR Developments-
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