Ayrton Simmons faces an uphill battle in his quest to be crowed British F4 Champion, after leader Kiern Jewiss extended his lead over the Epping racer to 62 points at Silverstone.

It proved to be a disappointing weekend for Simmons, who struggled with power issues in all three races, and a coming together with Jewiss in the final round saw the 17-year-old plummet down the order.

That clash ended any hopes Simmons had of clawing back some vital points ahead of the final round at Brands Hatch in two weeks, and the 17-year-old was handed a further blow when he was unable to finish in race three.

The JHR Developments driver was already on the back foot after qualifying, as he was only able to start from seventh place in race one, while main title rival Jewiss put his car on the front row.

Unfortunately for Simmons, he was unable to make much progress in the first round of the weekend as he crossed the line in sixth place, five spots behind Jewiss who increased his gap at the top of the table after finishing in second.

Simmons, though, would have the upper hand in race two, as sixth place meant he started from pole on the reverse grid.

His hopes of claiming victory went up in smoke on the first lap, as Simmons dropped down to third in the run-up to Becketts, with Jack Doohan and Patrik Pasma nipping up the inside as the Epping racer tried to defend from Dennis Hauger.

Despite an early safety car, Simmons was unable to close down the top two and instead, spent most of the race fending off Hauger and Jewiss for third.

The 17-year-old was struggling with power issues once again in race two, running almost five mph slower than his rivals, and despite some dogged defending, he would agonisingly drop to fourth on the line.

It was a drag race to the chequered flag between Simmons, Hauger and Jewiss, who were side-by-side exiting the final corner, and it was the latter who agonisingly snatched third by 0.006 seconds, meaning the Epping racer had to settle for fourth.

Following that late sucker-punch, Simmons’ fortunes would go from bad to worse in race three, as another controversial collision with Jewiss on lap seven saw the Epping racer come off worst.

Having dropped down the order, Simmons then spun while running side-by-side with Sebastian Alvarez and disappointingly retired from the race with five laps remaining.

It now means that the 17-year-old trails Jewiss by 62 points going into the last round, although the Epping racer knows how to win at Brands Hatch, after claiming two wins at the Kent circuit back in April.

Simmons will be hoping for better fortunes when he returns to British F3 action for Chris Dittmann Racing at Donnington Park this weekend.