Double Knockhill Win Strengthens British F4 Title Challenge For Phinsys By Argenti
17 August 2021
Phinsys by Argenti enjoyed a dream F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost weekend (August 14/15) at Knockhill as Matias Zagazeta ignited his title challenge with two commanding wins.
The Peruvian was perfection personified around the Fife venue as he powered his way to pole position for races’ one and three in qualifying before converting them into victories, while team-mate Eduardo Coseteng and Aiden Neate scored podium finishes in the Rookie Cup.
Making the long trip north of the border and keen to add to their silverware collection, the Banbury-based outfit showed glimpses of speed in practice before turning the wick further in qualifying, with Zagazeta leading the line.
Establishing himself as the driver to beat early on, Zagazeta punched in a number of quick laps to secure a career-first pole position whilst Coseteng and Neate were hot on his heels in fourth and fifth respectively.
Launching off the front row, Zagazeta didn’t put a wheel wrong at the head of the field in race one, and even dealt with a safety car at mid-distance, on his way to a superlative second win of the season. Coseteng almost made it two Argenti machines in the overall top three, with fourth securing him Rookie Cup silverware.
Unfortunately, incidents for Neate and Marcos Flack over the course of the contest brought their races to a premature end.
Race two proved to be frenetic from start-to-finish, with all four drivers in the thick of the action. Starting from the back row due to the reverse grid, Zagazeta showcased his overtaking prowess as he made number of eye-catching moves on his way to ninth.
Behind, the trio of Coseteng, Neate and Flack found themselves in several wheel-to-wheel battles as they ran line astern just outside the top ten.
Back on pole position for race three – which was broadcast live on ITV4 – Zagazeta powered his way to another impressive lights-to-flag victory. Launching into the lead, the second-year racer soaked up an enormous amount of race-long pressure to triumph in style.
There was further success for Argenti too as Neate claimed a first Rookie Cup podium of the year as he crossed the line in sixth, whilst Coseteng shadowed him in seventh. Flack capped off a challenging weekend in 13th.
At the end of the team’s most successful British F4 meeting so far, Zagazeta has moved into third place in the Drivers’ Championship, just 23 points shy of the standings summit.
Michael Meadows, Team Manager: “It’s been a fantastic weekend and I have to say a huge well done to Matias. Since he hit the track on Friday he has driven perfectly; a double pole position and double win is the perfect reward for all the hard work he has put in. Aiden deserved his first Rookie Cup podium. He’s really starting to make his mark in the championship now and hopefully this will be something to build on moving forwards. With Eduardo picking up a brilliant rookie podium as well, plus some strong results from Marcos over the weekend, it’s totalled up to a brilliant weekend for the whole team.We’re heading home in high spirits and looking forward to getting to Thruxton where we can hopefully draw on what we learnt when we kicked off the season there back in May.”
The F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost now heads south to tackle the fastest circuit in the UK, Thruxton, for the second time in 2021 on August 28/29.
Images: Jakob Ebrey Photography.