Arden Motorsport were able to salvage a good haul of points from a rollercoaster weekend (18-19 September) in the F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost at Croft.

The Red Arrows made the journey north to the 2.12-mile Yorkshire circuit looking to build on recent momentum, including a maiden podium in Britain’s FIA Formula 4 series for David Morales last time out at Thruxton.

The addition of newcomer Georgi Dimitrov also gave the Banbury-based outfit a boost, the team returning to a three-car line-up.

It would Zak Taylor that led the line for the trio in qualifying, the Gloucestershire teenager securing a fourth row starting spot, before improving to take the chequered flag in sixth in the opening race after a steady drive at the front.

The reverse grid race looked, in theory, to be an opportunity for the team to bag some more silverware, but an unfortunate collision at the apex of Clervaux between Morales and Dimitrov turned the race on its head.

Morales was out on the spot with damage, whilst Dimitrov dropped to the rear of the field. Undeterred, the British-Bulgarian fought back to finish ninth on the road ahead of Taylor, with the team shifting focus to Sunday’s ITV4-televised finale.

Morales responded to the disappointment of Saturday evening in fine style, the US racer battling superbly through the field to take eighth from the back row of the grid, whilst Taylor was unlucky to just miss out in P11.

After a quick-fire turn-around, the team head to Silverstone, Northamptonshire for the next event on the F4 British Championship calendar this weekend (25-26 September).

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Gary Ward, Arden British F4 Team Manager said:

“It definitely wasn’t a weekend short on action, I think that’s fair to say! But overall, we have to be happy with another solid haul of points, and there were some really impressive individual performances mixed in there too.

“I’d have completely understood if Zak’s confidence had taken a knock after that roll at Thruxton, but he came straight back in with such a positive attitude, had his best qualifying of the season and then kept pace with the guys up front – we can’t really ask more than that.

“David’s progress continues to come on leaps and bounds, and the way he made his way through the field in the final race just shows what he can be capable of, given time and more laps in the car.

“I’m sure Georgi would have wanted some points to show for his first weekend with us, but he’s still adapting to the car and the team, but given time, we can see the raw ingredients are there and he’ll have other opportunities to demonstrate what he’s capable of.

“Now it’s back to HQ for a quick turn around on the cars and we head off to Silverstone. Thanks to the whole team for their hard work and effort this weekend, as always.”

Georgi Dimitrov (#23) said:

“We had plenty of pace at Croft this weekend but didn’t quite have the luck on our side to convert that into the results we deserved.

“I’m still adjusting slightly to the setup on the car and integrating myself into the team, but everybody has been very welcoming, and the atmosphere is positive; I’m sure from here we’ll keep building.”

David Morales (#77) said:

“I’m still on a high from that final race, it was great to have the car underneath me and be able to attack and go on the offensive; to go from the back to score more points is a fantastic result, and another sure sign we’re on a good path.

“A big thanks to the team for their hard work and support to help me keep improving, we go again at Silverstone next weekend!”

Zak Taylor (#99) said:

“There are plenty of positives for me to take from Croft; it was my best qualifying session so far, and on race pace, we were able to keep up with the front-runners, so it’s a very strong base to keep building from.

“Obviously, I’d have liked to come away with more points, but given the frustrations we’ve had in recent rounds, this is definitely a good step in the right direction, and something to take forward to Silverstone.”