Sunday, August 24, 2008

Hartley takes dominant race one win

Brendon Hartley dominated a shortened British Formula 3 race and took his fifth win of the season on the streets of Bucharest this afternoon.

He made a swift getaway from his pole position and nobody could get anywhere near him in the race.

Hartley had to build his lead twice after a mid-race safety car period caused by a multi-car collision lower down the order. He quickly re-established a six-second lead and the victory was confirmed when the race was red-flagged four minutes before the end when Ricardo Teixeira spun and blocked the track.

"I was actually pretty reserved," Hartley said afterwards. "I knew I had the pace so it was just about not making a mistake."

The victory helped to keep Hartley's title hopes alive, but championship leader Oliver Turvey finished second with Jaime Alguersuari, who is now Turvey's closest rival, completing another Carlin Motorsport 1-2-3.

The other title hopeful, Sergio Perez, watched his own title aspirations all but slip away when his Mugen-Honda engine blew up while he was running eighth.

Esteban Guerrieri was a strong fourth in Ultimate's Mygale, holding off a line of cars for much of the race. Sam Abay, Max Chilton, Atte Mustonen, and John Martin queued up behind.

Salman Al-Khalifa clinched his maiden National Class victory while carnage reigned behind. The T-Sport driver picked his way to the front of the class in the opening laps and already off up the road when three of his rivals were eliminated at one corner.

Steven Guerrero clattered the wall and seconds later Stefan Wilson and Kristjan Einar tangled. Einar was flicked into the same wall as Guerrero had just hit, while Wilson went the other way and knocked Philip Major into a spin.

It took ten laps behind the safety car for the incident to be cleared, but nothing could deny Hartley his win.

Guerrero's retirement also cemented the National Class title for Jay Bridger, who only needed to finish ahead of Guerrero to be confirmed as champion.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M 23:50.696 2. Oliver Turvey Carlin D/M +5.831 3. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M +6.701 4. Esteban Guerrieri Ultimate M/M +8.203 5. Sam Abay Carlin D/M +8.822 6. Max Chilton Hitech D/M +9.715 7. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M +10.232 8. John Martin Double R D/M +11.010 9. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M +11.570 10. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M +12.213 11. Marcus Ericsson Fortec D/M +13.999 12. Salman Al-Khalifa T-Sport (N) D/H +20.858 13. Hywel Lloyd CF (N) D/H +23.622 14. Oliver Oakes Eurotek D/M +24.563 15. Jay Bridger Fluid (N) D/H +25.384 Retirements:Driver Team Car Laps Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 14 Henry Arundel Double R D/M 12 Sergio Perez T-Sport D/H 12 Stefan Wilson Fluid (N) D/H 5 Steven Guerrero T-Sport (N) D/H 4 Philip Major Fortec D/M 4 Kristjan Einar Carlin (N) D/H 4Fastest lap: Ericsson, 1:14.642 on lap 15

  • Hartley takes pole for race two
  • Di Grassi completes Campos double
  • Maldonado seeks Monaco double
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