What British Formula 4 Round 4 Report
Where Thruxton, England
When 3-4 June 2023
Community International
Alibhai out of luck in challenging Thruxton F4
It was quite literally a weekend of hard knocks for Aqil Alibhai, who endured a character building weekend of British F4 racing at the fast and unyielding Thruxton racetrack in England.. The weekend started on the front foot, but a tough qualifying had the Johannesburg racer on the back foot.
“It was looking very good after we topped practice on Friday, but I just didn’t quite get qualifying right,” Aqil rued. “I qualified twelfth and eighth for the first and final races and promised to do some overtaking, which worked out well in heat 1, as I made up a few places up to eighth in the opening laps, but after that it was quite difficult to make any more progress.
“Unfortunately we started further back in 16th in race 2, which started well enough. I made up a few places again and was grabbing two more after I made a great exit onto the long straight. “We were three abreast at full speed with me on the inside when the guy on the outside squeezed the car to the left of me and they collided. That turned the outside car into me.
“Next thing, I was a passenger sliding scarily tangled with that outside car in a high speed trip across the grass, and out of the race. Such a pity, that ruined the prospect of a great result. The team did a great job to replace all the wrecked bits including a radiator, the side pods, the floor, and the wing.
“At least I was a bit better placed in eighth on that final grid and the guys had done a brilliant job in turning the car around, so I was able to make up a place to seventh. The upside were two reasonable results, but the weekend promised so much more and the second race was a disaster. So it was more about hard knocks than winning pace this time around.
“But that’s racing, we will take the positives, work on the negatives, and move forward. We now have a two week gap to the last of five rounds each a fortnight apart, before a well-deserved summer holiday. We have won already and we are keen to get on the front foot for the rest of the season, so let’s do this!”
Issued on behalf of Aqil Alibhai
Photography by: Jakob Ebrey
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