Press Releases - Chaos at Norisring!

Chaos at Norisring!

Once again, there seems to be no lack of entertainment in the oft-overlooked German Formula 3 series this season. Of the 26 cars that took the green flag in Sunday's race at the Norisring in Nuremburg, the 105 lap race finished with 8 of them behind the pit wall. Engine failures, collisions and safety cars were the running themes throughout the day, but amidst the clouds of gravel dust and rogue bouncing tires, two performances stood out:

Eventual race winner Hasani Damir started the race in 22nd position after a disappointing finish in the previous race. He methodically worked his way through the field, entering the green flag pit stops in P1 and winning with a comfortable 22+ second cushion ahead of Ricci Rios. It marked Damir's 5th win on the season, half of the 10 races so far, but due to a rash of bad luck, he finds himself 3rd in the standings, behind current points leader and Trabant protege Dennis Klien.

Another bright spot in an otherwise chaotic day was the lone American in the German series, Billy Cox. Starting in the top 10, an early collision with Thorsten Trips relegated him to the back of the field early on. But the Team Valvoline crew kept their heads up. "It's definitely disappointing to be involved with an incident like that so early on. But we knew there was a lot of race left and didn't panic. The crew did a great job making repairs." So good in fact, Cox clawed his way back from a lap down and into the top 10, finishing in a respectable 7th place. "Considering we were dropping back before the wreck even happened, I don't think the race could have turned out any better. The car was performing like it didn't have a scratch on it. Again, hats off to the crew."

The 7th place finish is Cox's 4th straight top 10 and elevated him to 11th in the season standings.

"We're only half way through the season. We've been slowly improving and....who knows? Maybe we can muster a win or two by the end." Cox said. The 20 year old from Arizona is hoping to be noticed by the USRA and podium finishes would certainly help.

Next up on the calendar for the German series is a pair of races from the famed Sachsenring in Saxony. Cox laughed and waved off the question when asked if one of those wins could be mustered there.