Josh graduates to BRDC British F3 with CDR

27 February 2020

Chris Dittmann Racing has confirmed British F4 front-runner Josh Skelton as its first driver for the 2020 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship. The 19 year-old steps up to the UK’s premier single-seater championship after two successful campaigns in British Formula 4, taking 15 podiums – including two victories – en route to a best overall finish of fourth in 2019.

CDR also head into the new campaign on a high after enjoying their best season to-date in the category last term, taking five wins and twelve podium finishes between Ayrton Simmons and Nazim Azman, and were the only squad to achieve a 1-2 finish.

Skelton acted as the team’s official test driver at today’s MSVR Media Day at Brands Hatch, and will complete further mileage at the BRDC British F3 Media Day next week at Snetterton before gearing up for the season opener at Oulton Park on Easter weekend.

Josh Skelton said: “It’s amazing to be teaming up with Chris Dittmann Racing this season and I believe they will give me everything I need to push at the front of the field. After a solid season last year in British F4, we took a break over the winter and looked at our options. We decided the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship was the next step in my career and where I would learn the most. The car has a lot more downforce than what I have previously driven, and it will be great to see what the new upgrade kit is like. I can’t wait to get the 2020 season started and I can’t thank CDR or the people around me enough for making this possible.”

Chris Dittmann, Team Principal commented: “Everybody at CDR is delighted to welcome Josh to our BRDC British Formula 3 Championship team ahead of the 2020 season. His performance in British F4 over the last two seasons speaks for itself. He’s shown plenty of promise and we’re happy with the initial progress we’ve made together over the winter so far. Last year was a very positive one for everybody at the team and we’re looking ahead to 2020 with optimism.”

British F4 – Brands Hatch, Rd.10

12/13 October

Qualifying:
“Qualifying was very damp and as a result the track was greasy and slippy,” said Josh afterwards, “I had a spin into the gravel but luckily got the car back out again. After that it took a bit of time to get the tyres clean, getting P7, but finding the last bit of time to move up the order wasn’t to be this time around.”

Race 1 & 2:
“At the start of race one I didn’t have the best of starts, following which it was a pretty boring race race as a result of being behind the Safety Car for the most part. I managed to gain a place on the last lap however, which moved us up to seventh. I had a good start for race two, but lap by lap I was losing ground, had a little spin, and that was the race really.”

Race 3:
Josh: “Starting once again from 7th on the grid. The track had started to dry so I was hoping for a good result to see out the year on a high! I moved up to P6 on lap one, and shortly after made the move on Seb Alvarez to take P5. We looked to have really strong pace at the start of the race but towards mid-race the tyres went off massively. However, despite this I moved up another place to take P4 by the flag.”

“It was a positive result to take away from what was, a very tough weekend after struggling to get a set up in the wet conditions. I end the championship in 4th which is a very good result considering where we were after the first round. There’s been many highs and lows throughout the season, and breaking the British F4 record of 9 consecutive podiums and having a total of 14 podiums out of 30 races is definitely an achievement to take forward in my career.!

“I would like to say a massive thank you to JHR Developments for all the help and commitment over the last two years in helping me develop as a driver, and its now time to sit down and put some plans together heading into next year.”

Race 1: G7, P7
Race 2: G7, P10
Race 3: G7, P4

2019 British F4 Championship: 4th (326.5 points)

 

British F4 – Silverstone, Rd.9

28/29 September 2019

Thursday test day was pretty positive for us, we had good speed in all of the sessions in the dry conditions and gathered some good data heading into the race weekend.

Free Practice:
Friday was a day of mixed conditions. For FP1 we went out on old tyres for the first five laps just to make sure the car was running good, most other drivers were shod with new tyres. However, heavey rain quickly brought about the wets. This meant that I didn’t get a fast time in and we’re down in P10. In the wet part of the session we struggled generally so we all had a lot of work to do adjusting the car to suit. FP2 was more of the same as track conditions were damp with a dry line appearing, and it looked like the track was going to soon dry out. We took this opportunity to scrub in some new sets for the races because the forecast looked wet. With everyone setting good lap times in the near dry conditions we didn’t get to battle for a fast lap as a huge downpour came and changed the track conditions completely. They were so bad the session was cancelled with half of it remaining! We still really struggled with the handling of the car and needed to go through the data and sit down as a team and work a few things out.

Qualifying:
Come Saturday, the track was dry and we headed out. I felt pretty confident that we could pull out a good result. The first part of the session didn’t go too well, we struggled abit with the car and weren’t putting in fast lap times. When I came in to change the tyres it fixed what I was looking for. I managed to put two good laps together placing me P2 on the grid for Races 1 & 3. This was very satisfying considering how the previous day had gone.

Race 1:
We got off the line well and held P2 going into T2. I was side by side with P3 and we pushed each other to the limits on the braking whereupon both of us ran a little wide but held P2 through that corner. The driver behind got a good run down the straight and managed to get by putting me down to P3. I then put my head down and was trying my best to catch the driver in front. With around 5 minutes to go it felt like the car just went off and the tyres got too hot, and we dropped off the leaders a little bit. But to end the race in P3 and carry on my podium streak to nine in a row was very satisfying.

Race 2:
It had rained overnight and the track was wet. P4 grid. I had no traction off the line and straightaway dropped back to P6, However, two drivers in front made contact meaning I crossed the line at the end of the opening lap in P4. I was searching around to find grip on the track and hold the drivers off behind me, but it just wasn’t working. After a long race where we struggled as a team as a whole we crossed the line in P9 which was obviously a huge disappointment.

Race 3:
Race 3 was looking like a dry race until several minutes before heading down to the assembly area… it started raining heavily for around five minutes. We changed a few setups on the car hoping it would work in the wet. Starting from P2 we had our eyes set on another podium finish but after dropping to 6th on the opening lap I was really struggling for grip once again. Halfway through the race two drivers in front made contact promoting me to P4 which is where I crossed the line. As a team we need to sit down and work out where we are going wrong and focus on where we can improve the car in these conditions.

It was a weekend of highs and lows but you always have to focus on the positives and on improving the negatives. We set a new record of nine podiums in a row in the British F4 Championship which is a huge achievement moving forwards. I have dropped to 4th in the championship but still mathematically go into the last round with a chance of winning it. Although this will be very hard to do I’ll be giving it my all for the best result possible.

Thank you to JHR Developments and everyone involved.

 

British F4 – Knockhill, Rd.8

14/15 September 2019

Friday set off well. We had really strong speed throughout the day, and we were P4 in all 3 sessions less than a tenth off in the first. We were struggling a little with the car and made a change in the last session that definitely benefited us, and we looked to be strong on old tyres in the session compared to other drivers. We were confident heading into qualifying.

Qualifying:
Saturday morning saw us head out on track early in the morning. It was a very cold morning and I think the changes that we made on Friday evening hurt us in the session. Struggling in one area of the track for traction, meant our overall time wasn’t great after going purple in sectors 1 & 2. We ended qualifying in 5th but would be promoted higher on the grid after a few penalties.

Race 1:
I started 3rd and was putting pressure for P2 on the opening laps until he made a mistake and ended up going off. I held P2 for the rest of the race. It was just about putting my head down and trying to catch the leader. Secured the fastest lap of the race.

Sunday, Race 2:
P3 once again. This race was a lot more exciting. Having dropped to 4th on the opening lap I set my eyes on recovering the position and catching the leaders. A few laps in I got back up to P3 and closed up to the leaders. I tried a move to take second but the gap closed and I lost traction on the grass resulting In a drop back down to 4th. Once again I had work to do to get myself back into the podium. With another switch back at the hairpin I regained P3 and once again, closed the gap to the front, and setting another fastest lap.

Race 3:
P4 grid slot which was soon promoted to P3 after a mechanical failure from another driver on the warm up lap. I got off the line well and held the position. I kept putting pressure on the car in front but couldn’t quite get close enough to make a move with the loss of aero in some of the corners, but to take three out of three podiums at Knockhill, and, my eighth consecutive podium in a row is a big achievement.

Overall the weekend as been very satisfying, we have showed really good and consistent speed throughout testing and the races. We have also moved up to 3rd in the championship heading into the final two rounds.

A massive thank you to the whole of JHR Developments and everyone else involved.

British F4 – Thruxton, Rd.7

17/18 August

Heading into Thruxton I was confident that we could have a positive weekend because at the last round we had really good pace and some good results.

FP1:
Friday, we got the weekend underway well in FP1, set off good and felt really confident in the car. I managed to post a lap time which put us to the top of the board and 0.5secs clear of the rest of the field. Me and the team were very pleased with the speed that we had and were looking to carry this on throughout the weekend. FP2 was a very wet track. This time we went out and posted a time which put us P4, we were happy with this as we could make a few setup changes to improve the car and we were on old tyres. We felt very confident with our speed heading into qualifying on Saturday morning.

Qualifying:
Saturday, it had rained a lot over night so the track was still fairly wet, but was drying very quickly. Our qualifying took place on a damp drying track so the lap time was getting quicker and quicker every lap. It came down to the last two laps where I managed to post times which would put me P4 on the grid for Race 1 and P3 on the grid for Race 3. We just lacked a tow in the session which I think would of helped us massively.

Race 1:
I dropped back a place on the opening lap but quickly made that back up. From then on it was focusing on putting clear laps in and trying to catch P3, which I managed to do. So heading into the last lap I got past going into the last corner and crossed the line in P3 to start the weekend off well.

Race 2:
Starting the race from P4 once again, I had a good opening lap and managed to get straight to P3. Early on the the race a driver in front received a penalty promoted me to P2. I had a pretty big gap to catch to the leader but coming into the last lap of the race this margin was closed down. I got a massive run up to the last corner, taking the pass and the win.

Race 3:
P3 slot. I had a really good getaway and straight into P2 with teammate Carter Williams in front. We opened up a massive gap from the rest of the field, and I was pushing hard to get another victory, I tried on a few occasions to make a move but it didn’t quite pay off, so we ended the race with a P2 and a 1-2 finish for the team. This made it 3 out of 3 podiums this weekend for me, and, 3 out of 3 wins for the team.

What a weekend it was for us and the team! I’ve now moved up to P4 in the championship and not far away from 3rd. I’d like to say a massive thanks to JHR Developments for all their hard work. It’s definitely paying off and hopefully we will carry this on for the rest of the year. I’d also like to thank everyone else involved. Next round is knockhill.

Remaining 2019 Calendar:
22,23,24 Sat 14/Sun 15 September Knockhill, Fife
25,26,27 Sat 28/Sun 29 September Silverstone, Northants
28,29,30 Sat 12/Sun 13 October Brands Hatch (Grand Prix), Kent