McLaughlin claims British F4 rookie championship
McLaughlin leads the overall championship with two rounds remaining
- Published
Red Bull Junior driver Fionn McLaughlin has secured the British F4 rookie championship with two rounds to spare at Donington Park.
The 17-year-old from Northern Ireland has an unassailable lead over Thomas Bearman with rounds at Silverstone and Brands Hatch remaining.
McLaughlin continues to lead the overall championship by finishing in second and fifth in races one and three on Donington's Grand Prix layout, while he retired from race two after contact.
The Hitech Racing driver holds a margin of 45.5 points over Jimmy Piszcyk , while Hungary's Martin Molnar is seven points further back.
In the British Touring Cars, Chris Smiley claimed an independent victory by finishing ninth in race one.
The Northern Irishman finished fourth in race two but was disqualified after his Hyundai failed a ride height check at the end of the race, and he finished 21st in the third outing.
Smiley has dropped to third in the Independents' championship behind Mikey Doble and Dan Lloyd but just three points split the trio.
The races were won by Tom Chilton, Dan Cammish and Tom Ingram, who now leads the championship by 32 points over Ash Sutton.
The next round of the BTCC and British F4 takes place at Silverstone on 20 and 21 September.