Irungattukottai (Tamil Nadu), 17 Dec 2023: Cooper Webster has added to Australia’s growing list of international titles after securing the Indian F4 Championship on the weekend.
In what has been a highly-impressive 2023 campaign for Webster, the Victorian managed to wrap up the Indian championship midway through the final round of the season at the Madras International Circuit, near Chennai, adding to his runner-up GB4 Championship finish earlier in the year.
Webster didn’t need to do much to win the title having built up a solid lead in the previous four rounds, but the 20-year-old chose to finish on a high and started off with a perfect outing on Saturday with pole position in both qualifying sessions.
Webster then converted his pole position to a Race 1 victory thanks to a dominant performance where he led from lights to flag and crossed the line 11 seconds ahead of Akshay Bohra.
On Sunday morning, Webster dropped to third in the second race, as 2023 Ferrari Driver Academy Asia Pacific and Oceania Selection Programme participant Rishon Rajeev of Bengaluru picked up his first race win of the year.
The Australian didn’t have to wait very long to get back onto the top step of the podium though after another solid outing in the event’s third race saw him record his eighth win of the year and seal the title with an unassailable lead.
Rajeev did manage to get a minor consolation prize of a podium in the final race, as Webster finished couple of places behind in fifth – ultimately ending the year with 282.5 points – more than 60 points ahead of the second placed Rajeev on the standings.
The Aussie also managed to clock up the fastest lap in three of the four races in the final round, taking his total to seven fastest laps for the season, while also scoring five pole positions.
A Motorsports Australia post said: In addition to Webster, young driver Jack Taylor continued his first ever open wheel season with three top 10 finishes out of four races – his best result being the final race of the year where he finished seventh.
In addition to his impressive seventh place finish, Taylor also finished eighth and ninth respectively throughout the round, while being forced to retire in the round’s second race.
