Epping’s Ayrton Simmons closed the gap to British F4 Championship leader Kiern Jewiss to 29 points thanks to two podium finishes at Snetterton at the weekend.

The 17-year-old, who made his BRDC British Formula Three debut at Spa-Francorchamps last week for Chris Dittmann Racing, reduced Jewiss’ lead by a significant margin after the championship leader finished outside of the points in race one and three.

Simmons’ weekend kicked off in style when he secured his fourth pole position of the season, capitalising on Patrik Pasma’s ten-place grid penalty to put his car on the front row.

The JHR Developments driver started well and his hopes of reducing Jewiss’ advantage were boosted when the latter dropped down the order after a spin following contact with Dennis Hauger.

But the Epping racer’s hard work was undone on lap three, when dust kicked up by a car running wide obscured his vision, allowing Hauger to make a bold overtake.

Sebastian Priaulx also made the most of the 17-year-old’s bad luck, as he opportunistically nipped up the inside to take second place.

However, despite that setback, Simmons kept his cool and managed to bring the car home in third place, a result which saw him reduce Jewiss’ advantage by 15 points after the Double R Racing driver finished in twelfth.

The 17-year-old would make further headway in race two, earning another podium finish after crossing the line in third place once again.

A good start saw Simmons manoeuvre his way past Sebastian Alvarez and after overtaking Jack Doohan, the Epping racer would enjoy a race-long battle with Priaulx and Paavo Tonteri for the lead.

Tonteri would go onto pick up his maiden F4 victory in the end after Simmons couldn’t find a way past the front two, with the JHR Developments driver crossing the chequered flag in third.

Speaking to the British F4 website, Simmons said: “It’s another great haul of points for the championship. I got a good start and managed to get past Alvarez into the second corner.

“It was quite a relaxed race from there. I tried to push as much as I could to catch Priaulx, but the top three were evenly matched in terms of pace.

“It feels good to close the gap in the championship. I’m really happy with how today has gone and let’s see what we can achieve tomorrow.”

Simmons was unable to make it a trio of podiums on Sunday in race three, as the 17-year-old could only manage a fifth place finish during round 18 at Snetterton in tricky conditions.

But a troubled race for Jewiss, which saw him pit mid-way through for a new front-wing, meant he finished outside of the points, allowing Simmons to move within 29 points of the championship leader.