British F3: Hoggard Stars but Cannot Deny Novalak Title

At the end of another classic BRDC British F3 Championship season, Carlin’s Clement Novalak secured the title after a clash in the second race with rival Johnathan Hoggard saw the incident referred to the stewards. Hoggard proved the star of the weekend, but it was always going to be an uphill task to overhaul Novalak’s 52 point adavantage at Donington Park.

Hoggard did collect the Sunoco Whelen Challenge prize though, a competition he dominated thanks to his nine fastest laps, seven poles and seven race wins. Two of those wins came at the weekend with Nazim Azman also taking the flag in the reverse grid race, his second of the year.

Going into the weekend, Novalak, Hoggard, Ayrton Simmons and Kiern Jewiss could all claim the title. Jewiss’ exceptional second half the season concluded with two more second places, but it was not enough to deny Simmons of third in the standings.

Hoggard Reduced Gap by 29 points over Weekend

Although no points are awarded for qualifying, pole on such a crucial weekend would be vital for those chasing Clement Novalak. After topping Friday practice, Johnathan Hoggard was immediately on the pace, going fastest as the Carlin driver initially struggled to challenge the top ten. As the flag fell, Hoggard had done all he could, securing double pole ahead of Jewiss and Simmons, as Novalak eventually jumped to sixth.

Hoggard was quick to establish his lead at the end of the first lap as Simmons’ storming start was quickly undone in the first sector, bumping him down to 14th. Hoggard though was not breaking away, with Jewiss keeping within a second of the leader. Despite Hoggard setting fastest lap, he failed to shake the threat of Jewiss as Manuel Maldonado completed the podium.

At the end of the opening race, all was looking up for the Fortec Motorsports driver. As going into the weekend, he knew that a retirement for Novalak was essential for him to stand a chance. While the Carlin driver had his worst result of the season, it was only after contact with Hoggard on the opening lap of race 2.

Both drivers had started towards the rear, but bonus points from last was easier for Hoggard and he couldn’t afford to be cautious. Around the outside of Schwantz curve was never going to come off and despite Fortec appealing for a penalty, the result stood and Novalak (who also had been forced to take to the grass as well) secured the title with a twelfth place.

The title may have been deicided, but there was one more score to settle, Hoggard vs Jewiss. The form of Jewiss in the second half of the season had saved a dented reputation for the 2018 British F4 champion, but he still came out second best to the 2019 BRDC F3 runner-up.

Top Step unfamiliar for Champion

In a season with 13 different winners, the fact that the champion only graced the top step twice may seem unsurprising, but when you consider he hadn’t won a race since the third round in June and had only collected silverware three times since, it seems miraculous that Novalak had even maintained his early season form.

After Novalak’s last win on the Saturday at Silverstone, he had a 193 points, 59 more than Hoggard. The Spalding-born driver decreased that deficit to 23 by the end of the season, but when you consider Hoggard collected nine podiums (five of which were wins) in the same time Novalak only scored three, you realise just how important consistency and finishing races were to the tally. Collecting his champions trophy saw Novalak jump onto the top step for the first time in over 3 months.

Had Hoggard not retired from his two races, he would only have needed two ninth places to overhaul Novalak. Made even more bitter when you realise that his second retirement was in a reverse grid event at Donington as he was taken out by Ayrton Simmons.

Verhagen Ends Season as Best of Rest

While there was a lot of focus on the top four this weekend, perhaps the most unsung story was the pace shown by Neil Verhagen. Considering all but four regular drivers won an event this season, the fact that the American did not, despite finishing on the podium seven times seems almost criminal.

He was a valuable asset for Double R Racing this season though and a third place in the reverse grid race and finale will be a fitting end to a season where he needed positive results after being dropped from the Red Bull Junior Team.

By many metrics, Simmons was the second best driver this year behind Hoggard. Race wins, fastest laps, laps led, pole positions and Bonus Points from Race Two. And in all but the last metric, it was Hoggard who beat him. So to see the CDR driver struggle to overtake teammate Nazim Azman was a surprise in race two.

As the competition fell away Simmons gradually reeled in his teammate who had started second and quickly built a lead. In customer racing you don’t have to move out of the way for your teammate (even when the titles on the line) but if the fans came for a show, they can’t fault the Malaysian. Azman forced Simmons into late breaking moves at the Loop, eventually scrubbing his tyres and allowing the 18-year-old to win his second race of the year … and second race where he held off Simmons. A second season could see him become a star to watch.

Fortec on Fire

Going into the weekend, Hoggard was not to be challenged. Other than Jewiss, no driver could better him in Thursday and Friday testing and in qualifying he found another 0.59 seconds to establish his position, however he wasn’t the only team member performing with Manuel Maldonado in fifth.

Maldonado, like Ulysse de Pauw and Neil Verhagen, was in contention for fourth in the standings and third in the opening race did a lot to give his supporters confidence. He followed it up with a seventh in race two, gaining six bonus points, the second most of any driver, before finishing his season with a fourth.

Even Kris Wright, the seasons perennial backmarker managed to hold onto third for much of the reverse race. A testament to a driver who ends the season with just one top nine finish and the only full-season driver without a podium. Sadly it was not enough to overhaul Carlin in the teams title, with the crew in blue finishing on 1,016pts to Fortec’s 956, with Douglas and Double R on 967pts 823pts respectively.

The final word of the report goes to Sasakorn Chaimongkol who ends the 2019 campaign with his best statistical weekend, recording 55 points and jumping him up to eighth in the standings. It was continued proof that his Silverstone race one Win was no fluke and will be positive marketing for the Thai driver as he looks for 2020 options.

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