Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Alex Dunne heads to Brands Hatch this weekend firmly embroiled in a tight championship tussle.
The Irishman has swapped the championship lead with JHR’s Joseph Loake and Rodin Carlin’s Callum Voisin at recent rounds, with Voisin heading to Brands Hatch with a one point advantage after out-scoring Dunne at Silverstone last time out.
For Dunne, it’s a contrast to his 2022 campaign which saw him dominate the British F4 Championship, and he’s eyeing ways to make the most of points scoring opportunities in each race.
“To be honest, my approach is pretty much the same” he says. “I’d say the only difference is how important it is to really maximise the points every weekend as the top-three is so close.”
Whilst he’d like to still be leading the standings, he’s looking at the bigger picture with nine races still remaining in this year’s championship.
“I will do my best to get the lead back, but it’s not what I’m thinking about going into the weekend, if I can have a good qualifying and maximise on that in the races the rest will fall into place.”
For Dunne, the upcoming event will feature his first races on the full Brands Hatch GP circuit, as he missed last year’s British F4 finale at the venue while competing in Europe. He’s still expecting to go well though, having set the third fastest time in last week’s test, just 0.062s away from Loake’s best.
“My preparation is pretty much the same, we had a day of testing at the circuit earlier in the year, and another last week, so come qualifying I’m well prepared.
“I think Brands should suit me, it’s very high speed but also quite technical which is a combination I enjoy. As for expectations, I’ll just do the best I can and maximise what is possible on the weekend.”
Although Voisin, Loake and Dunne are covered by just 13 points at the top of the standings, Arden VRD’s James Hedley, Elite’s McKenzy Cresswell and Loake’s teammate Matthew Rees have all won races more regularly than the three main protagonists, and are within striking range, as is Douglas Motorsport’s Tymek Kucharczyk.
Dunne therefore reckons the title race could get even more exciting in the final third of the season.
“I think there is definitely still time for someone else to get involved in the fight, the championship all over is very close and if any of us have a bad weekend, that will bring someone right into the mix.
“In terms of who has the upper hand, it’s hard to say. So far we’ve all been very equal on pace most weekends so as long as I can find that last little bit for these last three rounds, that should help a lot!”