It was an emotional, landmark and confidence-building moment for Christian Mansell and his family.
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Having recently relocated from Bolwarra to the UK to pursue Mansell's dream of becoming a professional driver, the 15-year-old put months of coronavirus-forced delays behind him to claim his maiden victory on the F4 British Championship circuit.
"Mum was emotional, dad was speechless and very proud," Mansell told the Newcastle Herald following the weekend win at Brands Hatch.
"It's been a lot of hard work for everyone involved - family, friends as well as me. Was nice to get this one done."
The former Hunter Valley Grammar School student said he was "over the moon" about taking the chequered flag, especially just two stops and five races into the 2020 season.
"Amazing. Over the moon. One of the coolest things I've ever done," he said.
Mansell said he was still determined to make further inroads during his debut campaign and this result would certainly help that cause.
"You can't be complacent, but it's definitely given me confidence moving forward," he said.
Mansell said the most difficult part came in managing the tyres in the latter stages of the race.
"The tyres do fall off in terms of grip as the race goes on, you try and manage them as best you can but when you push you need to be mindful not to push too much," he said. "It can lose you time in the end, but I managed them well enough."
He sits fifth on the drivers' championship and leads the Rookie Cup by 27 points.
Mansell, under the Carlin team banner, led from start to finish in race two at the Grand Prix layout. A reverse grid saw him granted pole position. He ended up more than half a second ahead of his nearest competitor.
Also from Brands Hatch - he was eighth in qualifying, sixth in race one and seventh in race three. The new-look season, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, opened at Donnington Park on August 1 and 2. There are seven stops and 20 races left. Next round is set for Oulton Park later this month.
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