Tlačové správy - British F3 - Full Season Review

British F3 - Full Season Review

Old faces were back to take on Britain's newest chargers in the 7th instalment of the British F3 Series.

Championship veteran G. Brammer took the title to the wire with new faces Ben Solo, moving over from his debut season in French F3 in Season 6, Biguel Maines and Ray Striver, fresh off of highly successful seasons in the Rookie Championship.

Round 1 - Brands Hatch

The series started in extreme wet conditions and it was newcomer Ben Solo who took an early series lead in an event that was clearly dominated by LOL chassis on Brands' long straights. Rookie Maines took an impressive double podium as a number of the series' highest ranking drivers fell into trouble.

Race 1 . . . . . . . .Race 2

1. B. Solo . . . . . . . .1. P. Clarke
2. S. Morris . . . . . . 2. B. Maines
3. B. Maines . . . . . . 3. B. Solo

Round 2 - Thruxton

Britains fastest track was surely going to favour LOL chassis runners. But it was the surprise MYG package of Striver who took pole. The man in the Caterham colours went on to take Race 1 and was quoted as saying the win was "... Miraculous" given he was in the slower chassis. Solo makes it 3 podiums from 3 and Brammer puts up his first serious points as Striver struggles to keep the pace in Race 2.

Race 1 . . . . . . . . Race 2

1. R. Striver . . . . .1. S. Morris
2. S. Morris . . . . . .2. G. Brammer
3. B. Solo . . . . . . . .3. C. Kemp

Championship Standings

1. S. Morris...........71
2. B. Solo..............59
3. R. Striver.........45
4. B. Maines...........40
5. C. Kemp..............37

Round 3 - Donington

Striver and Maines share the front row on the first 'twisty' track of the year. The pair rack up a huge lead as Maines capitalises on his fellow Brits mistake through sector 1 to claim Race 1. Brammer continues to show serious form with a 3rd place which he then converts this to 25 points by winning Race 2! At the rear of the field it was a miserable weekend for championship leader Morris who fails to finish either race. The headlines though were dominated by the championships diversity, as the first six races were won by six different drivers.

Race 1 . . . . . . . . Race 2

1. B. Maines . . . . . .1. G. Brammer
2. R. Striver . . . . .2. B. Solo
3. G. Brammer . . . . .3. M. McIndoe

Round 4 - Rockingham GP

One name took all accolades from Rockingham. Pole position and both race wins went to Brammer who stamps his authority on the championship and strips front-runner Solo of his championship lead in an otherwise uneventful weekend.

Race 1 . . . . . . . . .Race 2

1. G. Brammer . . . . .1. G. Brammer
2. R. Striver . . . . .2. B. Solo
3. B. Maines . . . . . .3. E. Allen


Championship Standings

1. G. Brammer.........119
2. B. Solo...............118
3. R. Striver.........93
4. B. Maines...........90
5. S. Morris...........83

Round 5 - Silverstone

Historic Silverstone closes out the first half of the season and Striver takes a monumental pole position, topping S. Talbot in 2nd by over 0.750! But it was Brammer again who smashed the hopes of the competition with blistering race pace, taking his 4th and 5th wins of the season and proving he is the man to beat at this stage. Elsewhere, podium regular Maines DNF's Race 1 leaving him fighting from the back for Race 2.

Race 1 . . . . . . . . Race 2

1. G. Brammer . . . . 1. G. Brammer
2. R. Striver . . . . 2. B. Solo
3. B. Solo . . . . . . . 3. R. Striver

Round 6 - Mondello

The championships only visit away from mainland Britain, Mondello saw a key absentee from the results sheets as powerhouse Brammer fails to score all weekend. Echo'd by Maines who too registers no points. Striver becomes the first to break the one-win barrier besides Brammer. He and Solo take the opportunity to rack up points with title rivals out of the equation. Credit too to V. Munny who takes his first podium of the season and a highly impressive showing from E. Allen.

Race 1 . . . . . . . .Race 2

1. R. Striver . . . .1. B. Solo
2. E. Allen . . . . . .2. E. Allen
3. B. Solo . . . . . . 3. V. Munny

Championship Standings

1. B. Solo............192
2. G. Brammer......168
3. R. Striver......163
4. E. Allen..........123
5. B. Maines........94

Round 7 - Oulton

Another highly uneventful event and stoical racing produces a processional finish from Round 7. A dramatic turn of events causes Solo to score nothing after twelve races in the points! An impressive Race 2 from S. Ebdon and a return to form for Maines rounds off the podiums.

Race 1 . . . . . . . .Race 2

1. R. Striver . . . .1. G. Brammer
2. G. Brammer . . . .2. S. Ebdon
3. E. Allen . . . . . .3. B. Maines

Round 8 - Snetterton

Emulating Brammer at Rockingham, Striver rolls out to a perfect weekend taking pole and strolling to wins in Race 1 and 2. Maines too in the MYG chassis takes 2nd in the first race but a late mechanical DNF robs him of a much higher points haul. Swiss driver J. Jackson takes 3rd as one of the championships highest rated drivers takes a well earned podium. Ray takes the title lead for the first time as it apparently becomes a three-way battle.

Race 1 . . . . . . . Race 2

1. R. Striver . . . .1. R. Striver
2. B. Maines . . . . .2. B. Solo
3. S. Talbot . . . . .3. J. Jackson

Championship Standings

1. R. Striver.........250
2. G. Brammer.........220
3. B. Solo...............218
4. E. Allen.............148
5. B. Maines...........137

Round 9 - Knockhill

"I'm more than cautious of Maines! IHealy's drivers have usually been unstoppable around Knockhill, there's no doubt he's a real threat this weekend!".

The words of Ray before qualifying on Wednesday proved true as once again Striver and Maines occupy the front row. In true Knockhill form Race 1 was a wash-out, throwing a real curveball at the drivers. A return to the top step in fifteen races for Morris was long overdue though his title hopes were now mathematically out of the question after a superb start. Race 2 saw sunny skies once again but that would not keep cars on the road! DNF's for Morris, Striver and Brammer resulted in Maines building a lead out front until having it neutralised by the Safety Car. The restart provided more drama as Maines throws the car off the road dropping to 12th and eventually climbing back to 6th in just 3 laps. This left an unlikely podium trio for Race 2.

Race 1 . . . . . . . Race 2

1. S. Morris . . . . 1. J. Jackson
2. G. Brammer . . . . 2. O. Speedy
3. R. Striver . . . . 3. M. McIndoe

Round 10 - Croft

So the title decider was down to Croft and for the third time this season it was the young pair of Maines and Striver occupying the front row. Though on this day it was Maines on the top spot by a slender margin of 0.040, spoiling the party for Striver who was looking for a record breaking 8th pole position on the season. This was the pre-requisite for Maines wrapping up the season with a perfect weekend taking both race wins and proving that - without a myriad of mid-season technical faults and mechanical failures - he would have been fighting for the title.

"Race 1 was like none I have ever been involved in!" said Ray, who went into the race with a 27 point lead and looked to clinch the title by finishing ahead of Brammer. The top three of Maines, Brammer and Striver were separated by less than a car length, swapping 1st, 2nd and 3rd lap by lap in a fitting title battle. They were joined by a light-running Munny who charged through to the lead before pitting. Ultimately Brammer took Striver for 2nd and the championship went to the final day.

With a 24 point gap. Brammer needed to win, and took the lead early while a conservative Striver dropped to 5th. Though all changed around the pit stops as Brammer fell into trouble, dropping to 7th. Striver had climbed to 3rd with Maines 2nd and Solo 1st. Then with just 10 laps remaining, a resurgent Brammer pushed the limits and put the car off the road, retiring from the race.

The championship was decided and 19 year old Striver had won the title in his debut season. But there was still a race to decide, Striver jumped from 3rd to 1st and Solo from 1st to 3rd. The lead was short for Ray who was passed by Maines with 3 laps remaining and dropped further still with an error in Maines' dirty air.

Race 1. . . . . . . .Race 2

1. B. Maines . . . . 1. B. Maines
2. G. Brammer . . . . 2. B. Solo
3. R. Striver . . . . 3. R. Striver

Championship Standings

1. R. Striver.........295
2. G. Brammer.........256
3. B. Solo...............244
4. B. Maines............207
5. E. Allen............176

"What an unbelievable season! We were looking down and out at the midway point when Graham took five straight wins. Obviously Snetterton was a massive weekend for us, I'm just glad our consistency shone through on the days we didn't win". Said Striver in the paddock.

Congratulations to everyone in the series for making it such a success!