JOE TURNEY MAKES LATE BRITISH F4 ENTRY FOR BRANDS HATCH WITH CARLIN

Carlin have announced British karting graduate Joe Turney will contest the opening rounds of the 2019 F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost at Brands Hatch this weekend.

The 17-year old became the only British karter to claim the X30 British, BNL European and World Championship crowns in a single season and will partner Zane Maloney as the triple British F4 champions aim to reach a century of podiums.

His switch into Britain’s FIA-sanctioned Formula 4 series marks his first foray into single-seaters, as he aims to follow in the footsteps of Carlin alumni Lando Norris, Max Fewtrell and Jamie Caroline in claiming the overall prize in Ford’s winning formula.

“I’m delighted to be joining Carlin this weekend and excited to have my first ever car race,” said Turney.

“I’ve already done some testing with the team, which has gone well, and I feel like I’ve made some good progress thanks to the advice and guidance I’ve received so far.

“Zane is a really strong benchmark to have as a team-mate; hopefully we’ll be able to deliver some good results for the team this weekend at Brands Hatch.”

Team Principal Trevor Carlin echoed Turney’s delight and is looking forward to seeing both karting graduates’ debut in the Ford EcoBoost-powered category at the 1.19-mile Kent circuit this weekend.

“Joe is a really exciting new talent straight out of karting. While this weekend will be a big learning curve for him, we’re delighted to give him the opportunity to show some of his potential in an F4 car.

“With Joe and Zane we have a really exciting, young team and look forward to seeing them make their F4 racing debuts on one of the UK’s most exciting tracks.”

Once again in 2019, the F4 British Championship holds a unique role as the sole single-seater support series on the UK’s premier motorsport package – the British Touring Car Championship.

That in itself guarantees capacity trackside crowds exceeding some 30,000 spectators at most events, as well as live, free-to-air television coverage nationwide on ITV4.

The first free practice session of the new campaign begins at 09:00 GMT tomorrow.