James Higgins produced one of his best-ever performances in the ROKiT British F4 Championship certified by FIA this past weekend (August 24-25) as he charged to a superb pair of race wins at Donington Park.
Underlining his credentials as one of the leading lights in the single-seater series, the Rodin Motorsport driver was wheel-perfect in races two and three on the Grand Prix circuit as he made back-to-back visits to the top step of the podium.
Arriving at the Leicestershire venue with the aim of returning to front-running form after enduring a truncated run of events, the 18-year-old kicked off the eighth meeting of the campaign by posting the tenth fastest time in qualifying.
From there, Higgins showcased his overtaking prowess as he pulled off a number of eye-catching overtakes around the 2.49-mile circuit to progress up the order and take the chequered flag in fifth place.
Race two – which was the rescheduled third contest from the start of the season at Donington Park – proved to be one to remember for the hard-charging teenager as he scored a commanding lights-to-flag triumph.
Starting on the outside of the front row, Higgins wasted no time in wrestling the lead from team-mate Alex Ninovic and quickly established a healthy advantage out front before a brief safety car closed things up.
On the restart, Higgins and Deagen Fairclough broke clear of the chasing pack and soon embarked on a captivating duel. Precise throughout, Higgins didn’t give the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver a sniff of an opportunity and held firm to claim a famous win.
Returning to the track on Sunday for two more races, Higgins picked up where he left off in the reverse grid contest as he made a lightening start to vault into the lead from third and from there, he didn’t look back.
While battle ensued behind him, the BRDC Rising Star didn’t put a wheel wrong as he controlled proceedings from start-to-finish to clinch a well-deserved second successive victory of the campaign.
Higgins completed what proved to be a weekend to remember in Leicestershire by delivering another stellar drive in the finale as he fought his way up the order to bank a strong haul of points in fifth.
James Higgins: “I’m absolutely over the moon! It’s been a real rollercoaster season for me up until this weekend so to be coming away with not one but two wins is really special and a fantastic reward for the whole team.
“Qualifying didn’t go our way but I knew we had some serious pace in the car; and thankfully I was able to show it when it came to the races. That first win was hard-earned as Deagen didn’t let up at all – I figured out pretty quickly where he was strong though so was able to keep him behind.
“Race three I think I had one of the best starts of my life to launch into the lead and from there we just punched in quail laps to build an advantage. Two wins and a big haul of points is just absolutely mega!
“This has been the perfect set of results to head into the final few races with and I’m feeling confident that we can pick up some more silverware when we head to Silverstone in a few weeks’ time.”
The ROKiT British F4 Championship certified by FIA next returns to Silverstone, albeit this time on the National circuit, for the penultimate event of the 2024 season on September 21-22.
