All's well that ends well for Chorley race ace

Hodgen’s third victory of the season takes him to just one point behind Championship leader Ashley Dibden in the battle for the Mono Formula 3 Championship after nine races of 14.

All could have been so different after a huge setback on the third lap of pre-race testing on the Friday, when Hodgen’s engine let go due to a sudden loss of oil.

Fortunately for Hodgen, a follow competitor, Simon Tate, who could not race that weekend, offered the use of his similar Dallara 304 race car to keep his Championship alive.

There were still two big 
issues – the car was in Dunstable some 160 miles away from Oulton Park, and it was in bits ready for a rebuild.

Hodgen said: 
“Friday was heartbreaking, as it looked like our season was over in a flash.

“It was even more stressful due to having more than 50 guests coming over the weekend and my main sponsor JA Resorts & Hotels flying over from Dubai just for the race. We knew we couldn’t rest till we had sorted something.

“The car was never going to be perfect as there was no real set-up on it, but we just needed to rescue as many points as possible over the weekend. I think we just about did that.

“The feeling I had crossing the line to take the win cannot be described. From the position we were in on Friday morning to then come away with a second and a win is just incredible. Big thanks have to go out to my team who all put in an extraordinary amount of effort.”