Press Releases - F3 Masters Round 5 Macau Sprint: Vilanova wins as Thomazini and Bellamy take the title down to the wire

F3 Masters Round 5 Macau Sprint: Vilanova wins as Thomazini and Bellamy take the title down to the wire

Marc Vilanova takes his finally wins a race in the F3 Masters but only Luiz Thomazini (150 points) and Samuel Bellamy (23 points behind) can fight for the title, as Cordell Gifford managed to beat Steve Villeneuve for 2nd and also eliminate him from further title contention. More below...

Report:
The race started cleanly and Steve Villeneuve was able to lead his way from Marc Vilanova until on lap 5 where young Belgian Tommy Smet's crashed out deploying the safety car and seeing most of the field diving into the pits for their mandatory stop, the guys staying out were Petter Solberg Jr who took the lead, Bartek Szybki who needs a win if he wants to stay in title contention and Philip Ross who got into the top 3 but we see Vilanova jump Villeneuve in the pits, also jumping him were Cordell Gifford and Juca Macieira.
Safety car stayed out a lap longer when Sasu Saikkonen'a car grinded to a halt on lap 9.
Race restarted on Lap 11 and Szybki staright away took the lead from Solberg and opened up the gap until the pit window, using his lighter fuel adantvage, Steve Villeneuve broke a piece of his front wing on the kerbs on lap 15 as he tries to keep his championship hopes alive and take the lead back, the same lap saw Bartek Szybki jump into the pits but rejoins the track in the top 8 and becomes a man on a mission. On Lap 18 saw Mack Zaggro crash into the wall at the fast Turn 2 right hander as Bartek Szybki managed to get avoid Marc Montane who was trying to avoid Zaggro's out of control car and flying debris, enough to deploy the safety car once again, Makoto Mizuhara also crashed out after hitting the debris and understeering into the wall. The order was Vilanova on for his first win here, Gifford on for his best result, Macieira on for his first podium here, Villeneuve not into championship remaining position with Thomazini just behind. Before the safety car period ended, Juca Macieira's car broke down which was good news for Steve Villeneuve who gains a position but Thomazini to 4th.
Safety came in for the final lap and Vilanova held on to win for the first time with Gifford 2nd, Villeneuve coming home 3rd losing the race under the pits, more bad news is that even Steve Wallace's overtake on Luiz Thomazini isn't enough to keep him in title contention, Bartek Szybki just missing out on the top 5 but otherwise it was a decent recovery by the young Pole who will just have to focus on next season now. Samuel Bellamy's recovery to 12th is enough to keep him fighting for the title, heres how the title will be decided below.

How either one of them will need to win the title:
There's only one way how either Thomazini or Bellamy needs to win the title.
If Bellamy wins the race, Thomazini will need 13th or better.

Thank you and we'll see you for the season finale tonight at 8pm!