The Japanese racer took on the UK’s most famous race track this weekend in the British F4 Championship after his win the previous week at Croft. The event proved a challenging one for the 16-year-old and his team, with multiple incidents causing damage to the car. Dougie battled hard to fight back from these issues and was able secure a championship point in the final race.
A grey and foggy Saturday morning saw the British F4 class queue up for their Qualifying session. In Friday’s testing the Carlin cars had struggled a little with pace, but the team were hoping to bounce back over the weekend. Dougie completed his warm up laps and began pushing, avoiding traffic and getting in some solid lap times. A quick lap of the National Circuit is only around 56 seconds, so the gaps between the 17-car grid were tight. At the end of the 20 minutes Dougie sat in P13, just half a tenth off P10. This would see Dougie line up in P13 for Races 1 and 3 and P5 in reverse grid Race 2.
The fog had cleared a little by the time Dougie and his peers began their green flag lap for Race 1. Starting alongside his Carlin teammates, the four had a decent start, but a difficult moment saw Dougie run off and drop towards the back of the pack. On the fight back, Dougie knew he had the ability to regain the places he had lost. At one stage the Japanese racer had climbed all the way up to P12, even gaining on his original starting position and battling with teammate Hedley. Unfortunately the pair came together on the Wellington Straight and Dougie dropped back into 13th. He was then able to maintain the position until the chequered flag. Whilst frustrating, the number #25 car did show some promising pace.
At the end of Saturday, Dougie said:
“Qualifying was tough but I think we got pretty much all we could out of the car in that session. In the race we picked up front wing damage due to my mistake and this made the rest of the race very difficult for me. I’m sorry to the team!”
In the midst of a challenging day, Dougie was however delighted to meet a number of fans who came to visit him at the Carlin awning to get photos and his autograph.
Starting P5 in Sunday morning’s race behind some of the championship’s back-markers, Dougie was confident he would be able to battle for a podium place. Frustratingly during the formation lap a car had leaked oil around the P1 grid spot and the race was briefly delayed in order for the marshals to clean the hazard up. Unfortunately, the length of time it took for the spill to be cleared meant that their race now risked affecting BTCC television coverage, so British F4 was postponed until after the touring car’s first race. This was tough on the young racers, who had to adjust their mindset and maintain their focus for an additional hour before they were able to go racing. When Round 23 was finally underway, Dougie had a decent start and was soon up to 4th position. After a short Safety Car period due to a grounded competitor, Dougie began his attack for 3rd place, with teammate Inthraphuvasak close behind. Unfortunately whilst battling for position Bolger and Morales came together and there was nothing he could do as he was sent flying off track, picking up damage to his floor. The damaged sustained forced him to retire his #25 car from the race. A disappointing end to what could’ve been a podium finish for the 16-year-old.
In the final race of the weekend Dougie would once again start in 13th alongside his Carlin teammates. On a very hectic first lap the entire grid fought hard for positions, with multiple groups running three-wide into corners. Dougie frustratingly found himself in the deep-end of a battle at Turn 2 and ran wide in the tangle dropping him to the back of the pack. He rapidly returned to the pits where he remained for a lap, but a fantastic job from his crew meant he was soon back on track and ready for the comeback. Determined to make up for the disappointing way Race 2 had ended, the Japanese driver pushed hard in attempt to catch the main pack, helped out by a Safety Car due to an incident up ahead. Ensuring he stayed out of the chaos further up the road, Dougie drove a determined rest of the race, eventually crossing the line in 10th after a few other competitors retired. He even recovered from a full 360 degree spin in which he was praised by commentators for his fantastic car control. Granted, an unusual race, but some positives – in addition to a championship point – can be pulled from it.
At the conclusion of the final race, Dougie stated:
“In general it was a weekend to forget here at Silverstone. We had some very difficult moments, including damage to the car in each race. Huge thank you to the team for working to fix the car on each occasion. The next F4 round is at Donington which is one of my favourite tracks. I hope to make up for this weekend when we race there.”
Kokoro Performance’s Kieren Clark added:
“There are always highs and lows in motorsport, and after the high of the win last weekend it is a shame to see the events of this weekend at Silverstone. Nonetheless this is a good learning experience for Dougie and one that he will remember as his continues his journey in motorsport. We are already working hard for the next round which I’m sure will be more positive.”
Next the British F4 Championship visits Donington Park Circuit in Derbyshire on 9-10 October
