Press

Zhuhai-based BlackArts Racing took two wins and six top 5 finishes in the sixth round of the 2018 FIA Chinese F4 Championship at the Wuhan Street Circuit, October 2-4.

Chinese F4 title protagonist Daim Hishammudin was unable to attend the event, so BAR welcomed back 2017 AFR and F4 champion Charles Leong alongside AFR driver Stephen Hong. Practice one went very well for the team, with Charles familiarising himself with the F4 machinery once more, while Stephen adjusted to driving a new car for the first time. Both drivers were making their debut on a street circuit, so it took time to build their confidence around the streets of Wuhan.

Unfortunately, Stephen came down with an illness before second practice, so was taken to hospital for checks. 2015 AFR Champion and BAR Driver Coach Dan Wells was tasked with replacing Stephen in order to provide assistance to Charles and the team in their bid for the team’s F4 Championship.

Qualifying got under way in dry conditions on Wednesday afternoon, but both drivers struggled with handling around the 4.1km temporary circuit. Thankfully, things were rectified with work overnight and the team enjoyed much better fortunes the following day.

Race one commenced on Thursday morning in bright and sunny conditions, with Charles Leong charging through from 5th to 1st, and Dan Wells coming through from 8th to 3rd at the chequered flag. Race two took place later that day with the grid having been decided by the finishing positions from race one, with Charles Leong taking another win while BAR driver Dan Wells defended the 1-2 throughout the race.

The reverse grid race 3 took place early morning Thursday, and with Charles starting 10th and Dan in 9th, it was going to prove difficult to work through the field around the tight street circuit. Thanks to good starts for both and some solid overtaking manoeuvres, the duo came home 4th and 5th. With Charles not scoring points due to being the 2017 China F4 Driver’s Champion, it meant that the Teams Championship was secured with Dan’s finishing positions.

Charles Leong commented; “It was great to come back to BlackArts Racing and experience a street circuit for the first time in preparation for my Macau debut. It was good to see that we had the pace to come through the field and I’m happy with my results this weekend, especially given the quality of the field”.

Dan Wells explained; “First off, I’d like to say that I hope that Stephen will fully recover from his illness and will be back with us soon. Also, thanks to BAR for entrusting this opportunity to me. I really enjoyed driving the F4 car around the Wuhan Street Circuit and am happy that the team got some great results this week.”

Daim Hishammudin will be back in the BlackArts Racing car at the final event on October 12-14 at the Ningbo International Circuit, where he will compete for a top placing in the championship.