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How Carlin's next American hope took the long road to glory

A second crack at the BRDC British Formula 3 title yielded top prize for Kaylen Frederick, but the Carlin driver made life hard for himself in a year that threatened to yield a surprise outcome

Stefan Mackley Dec 21, 2020, 4:03 PM

The record books will show that Kaylen Frederick was the star of the season on his way to victory in the 2020 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship. The American, returning with Carlin for his sophomore season in the category, claimed more wins (nine), poles (eight) and fastest laps (12) than any other driver. Perhaps the most startling statistic of all is that he led 120 laps, while the next best was his main title rival Kush Maini, with just 36.

Yet as Frederick lined up on pole for the 24th and final race of the season at Silverstone, he still needed to finish the race to be sure of the title. He duly did that with an emphatic drive and victory, but the fact that the title went down to the dying moments of the campaign, despite his seeming dominance, belied the ups and downs of a turbulent 2020.

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Author Stefan Mackley

A proud Yorkshireman, Stefan Mackley is Autosport's National Deputy Editor. Having graduated from the University of Central Lancashire with a degree in sports journalism he spent nearly four years working on local newspapers in Wiltshire - during which time he became an NQJ-qualified journalist and cut his teeth covering club racing at Castle Combe in his spare time.

Making the jump into motorsport journalism full-time, he joined the national desk for both Autosport magazine and Motorsport News in 2017 before becoming National Deputy Editor for the former in 2020.

His passion for motorsport stems from watching Formula 1 as a child with his father and is matched only by his love for Star Wars.

A better journalist than racing driver, he has so far competed in the Citroen C1 24 Hours and 116 Trophy with hopes of racing more machinery in 2021 and beyond.