Ericsson tops Rockingham test

Marcus Ericsson continued the strong start to his debut Formula 3 season by topping the official series test at Rockingham yesterday.

The 17-year-old Fortec Motorsport driver finished the day two tenths of a second clear of second-placed Max Chilton (Hitech Racing).

"I feel really confident and I hope we can continue making progress," Ericsson said. "We're in good form and I'm really looking forward to the next race at Croft."

Jaime Alguersuari (Carlin Motorsport) also carried on his good form in third place, ahead of Sergio Perez (T-Sport) and Nick Tandy (JTR) in the lead Mygale.

Nexa Racing's new Championship Class signing Viktor Jensen missed the test, but Oliver Oakes made his first appearance of the season in his 2008 Dallara Mercedes, run by Eurotek Motorsport and overseen by P1 Motorsport.

Salman Al-Khalifa was quickest of the National Class runners in 14th place overall.

The second round of the championship takes place at Croft next weekend.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Laps 1. Marcus Ericsson Fortec D/M 1:11.799 73 2. Max Chilton Hitech D/M 1:12.001 +0.202 100 3. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M 1:12.095 +0.296 75 4. Sergio Perez T-Sport D/H 1:12.144 +0.345 79 5. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1:12.215 +0.416 81 6. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M 1:12.249 +0.450 40 7. John Martin Double R D/M 1:12.263 +0.464 90 8. Sam Abay Carlin D/M 1:12.307 +0.508 61 9. Esteban Guerrieri Ultimate M/M 1:12.329 +0.530 42 10. Sebastian Hohenthal Fortec D/M 1:12.362 +0.563 70 11. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 1:12.503 +0.704 93 12. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M 1:12.624 +0.825 77 13. Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 1:12.662 +0.863 75 14. Salman Al Khalifa T-Sport (N) D/H 1:12.769 +0.970 93 15. Oliver Turvey Carlin D/M 1:12.774 +0.975 75 16. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M 1:12.906 +1.107 67 17. Alistair Jackson Double R D/M 1:12.940 +1.141 70 18. Henry Arundel Double R D/M 1:13.442 +1.643 76 19. Jay Bridger Fluid (N) D/H 1:13.450 +1.651 72 20. Hywel Lloyd CF (N) D/H 1:13.633 +1.834 80 21. Philip Major Fortec D/M 1:13.70 +1.909 47 22. Stefan Wilson Fluid (N) D/H 1:14.124 +2.325 61 23. Kristjan Einar Carlin (N) D/H 1:14.164 +2.365 82 24. Steven Guerrero T-Sport (N) D/H 1:14.190 +2.391 75 25. Craig Reiff Nexa (N) D/H 1:15.652 +3.853 79

Oakes to make F3 debut with Eurotek