Ultimate switch to Dallara chassis

British Formula 3 team Ultimate Motorsport have switched from Mygale to Dallara chassis, but will sit out the season finale at Donington Park next month.

Michael Devaney scored the first victories for Mygale at Snetterton earlier this season, but the team were unable to repeat the achievement or mount a championship challenge.

Ultimate boss Barry Walsh believes the switch to Dallara will allow them to be consistent front runners in future, starting with a two-car assault on the Macau Grand Prix in November.

"We are still on good terms with Mygale and they understand our decision," he told Autosport. "While we've had success with the Mygale, we feel we've done all we can with the car.

"We need to take the next step as a team and fight for championships.

"We've withdrawn from the final round at Donington so as not to upset anyone about testing away from races. We're spending the time preparing the cars for Macau."

Ultimate confirmed that they will run Esteban Guerrieri at Macau, while the second driver is still to be confirmed.

Walsh added that he is yet to decide whether the team will compete in the British or Euro Series championship next season.

"We're just waiting on the final calendars, then we'll make the decision," he said.

"We've shown the ability of the team in the Renault World Series and we want to replicate that form in F3. Realistically, at this stage, we feel we need to have Dallaras to put us in the best position to fight for a championship."

Devaney gives Mygale maiden pole

Victory eases pressure for U.S.

Homecoming extra sweet for Burling

Magnussen Jr eyes F3 campaign

Kevin Magnussen, the son of former grand prix driver Jan, is hoping to follow in the footsteps of his father by racing in the British Formula 3 championship next season.

Magnussen Sr won the 1994 British F3 title, winning 14 of 18 races, and made his Formula 1 debut the following season with McLaren. He set the record for the most number of British F3 wins (since broken by Takuma Sato in 2001 with 16) and still holds the record for the most wins in a season.

His 15-year-old son has dominated the Danish Formula Ford Championship this year, in his first full season of racing, and is eyeing a graduation to British F3 next season after testing one of champion team Carlin Motorsport's National Class Dallara Mugen-Hondas at Pembrey last week.

Kevin impressed Carlin with his performance and hopes to raise the budget to race for them in 2008.

"I had a good feeling with the car, the brakes, the downforce, everything," Magnussen told this week's Autosport magazine. "It was very good to drive, I enjoyed it a lot, and the team were very nice to work with too. I was able to do times that were very good, or I think so at least.

"If we want to do anything next year, we want to do British F3 with Carlin. Of course it will depend on the money, but this is what we want."

Magnussen admitted that family history in the series is an attraction, but isn't expecting to break Jan's records.

"For sure, my dad's record in the series is encouraging for me. But he says he wants me to do the same as he did! That's a lot of wins, I don't know if I can get that many. I will just try to do my best."

Carlin Motorsport team boss Trevor Carlin was encouraged by Magnussen's performance last week and believes he could be a potential winner.

"His performance was quite amazing actually," said Carlin. "Given his age and experience, the ability level that he's starting at is very impressive. His times were good, but more importantly his lines were perfect and he didn't make a mistake all day, he covered a lot of laps.

"He's a chip off the old block in every respect. He's intelligent, has a professional attitude, and if he's this good at 15, you can only imagine how mega he could be by the time he's 18."

Borman’s celebration catches eyes

Full-time Euro Series entry for Epsilon

Multiple French Formula 3 series champions Epsilon will make a full-time entry into the Euro Series next year.

Michel Lecomte's team, who ran in the French series between 1988 and 2001 in a variety of guises, returned to F3 action under the Barazi Epsilon banner in the Euro Series at Barcelona last weekend. They fielded a single Dallara-Mercedes for Monagesque driver Stephane Richelmi.

The team plan to contest the remaining two rounds of this year's Euro Series with their single-car entry in preparation for a two-car assault on the full series in 2009.

"Epsilon have a great history in F3 and it's a good time for us to come back," Lecomte told Autosport. "The car only did 50 kilometres before we arrived here, but you learn a lot more by coming to a race than you do in testing."

Richelmi, who has been racing for Epsilon in the Formula Renault Eurocup this season, had a tough weekend. He qualified 29th and last, 2.5 seconds off the pace. In race one he kept out of trouble and finished 18th, but in race two he spun, stalled and was black-flagged after being push-started. He was fined €1000 and has a five-place grid penalty for the next round at Le Mans.

But Epsilon's toe-in-the-water campaign gives them the opportunity of securing a place on the 2009 grid.

Seven new teams are understood to have enquired about joining the series, while Autosport understands a third engine manufacturer has targeted a 2009 entry, although their identity has not been disclosed.

The current F3 team bosses met at Barcelona and agreed to keep the current 32-car limit. However, the registration deadline, when entry deposits must be lodged for 2009, has been brought forward to October 31.

Colin Kolles's TME outfit and leading Formula Renault team Motopark Academy are widely expected to join the current entrants with a brace of VW-backed entries.

Gomez regaining fitness, lifting Rapids

Hoops show moxie in D.C. comeback

Oshima scores maiden Euro Series win

Kazuya Oshima scored his first Formula 3 Euro Series win in commanding style at Barcelona today.

From pole position, the Manor Motorsport driver made a textbook start and, with chaos erupting behind him, ended the first lap more than a second clear of the pack.

From there, all he had to do was keep his car on the road, which he duly did to record Manor's first win of the year.

Through the first corner mayhem emerged Yann Clairay in second, and once again the SG man proved hard to pass. For 19 laps Christian Vietoris tried to find a way through and eventually he succeeded when Clairay ran wide in Turn One.

Vietoris carved into Oshima's lead, but the Japanese was too far ahead to be caught.

From 27th on the grid, Jules Bianchi made an amazing start to end the first lap in fifth. He passed ART teammate James Jakes and followed Vietoris by Clairay for an unlikely podium.

Jakes also made a late move on Clairay for fourth, while the final point went to Brendon Hartley. It was Carlin's first points finish in the Euro Series.

Championship leader Nico Hulkenberg damaged his front wing in the first lap melee. But with rivals Edoardo Mortara, Renger van der Zande, and Mika Maki all failing to score, he remains odd-on for the title.

Pos Driver Team Car Gap 1. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M 40:50.803 2. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M +3.471 3. Jules Bianchi ART D/M +6.357 4. James Jakes ART D/M +14.064 5. Yann Clairay SG D/M +16.652 6. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M +17.727 7. Erik Janis Mucke D/M +19.597 8. Jens Klingmann RC D/V +21.361 9. Richard Philippe SG D/M +21.937 10. Renger van der Zande Prema D/M +22.694 11. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V +23.420 12. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M +24.048 13. Mika Maki Mucke D/M +24.598 14. Robert Wickens Signature D/V +26.195 15. Niall Breen Manor D/M +27.507 16. Dani Clos Prema D/M +33.370 17. Daniel Campos-Hull HBR D/M +34.907 18. Sam Bird Manor D/M +35.324 19. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M +37.615 20. Cheng Cong Fu RC D/V +41.310 21. Peter Elkmann RC D/V +42.821 22. Jon Lancaster ART D/M +43.387 23. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M +47.764 Retirements Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M 30 laps Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M 17 laps Franck Mailleux Signature D/V 3 laps Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M 2 laps Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V 1 lap Stefano Coletti Prema D/M 1 lap Fastest lap, Lancaster 1:07.321 on lap 6

Hulkenberg takes Barcelona pole

Hulkenberg takes comfortable win

Hulkenberg takes comfortable win

Nico Hulkenberg increased his Formula 3 Euro Series points lead with what was ultimately a comfortable win in Barcelona.

But the polesitter had to work hard for his victory, spending the first 21 laps stuck behind Yann Clairay. The SG Formula driver hit the front when the fast-starting Richard Philippe took out Jules Bianchi at the first corner of the race, forcing Hulkenberg to take evasive action.

The Frenchman was driving a fine defensive race to keep Hulkenberg at bay, but his guard finally dropped as he overshot his braking point for Turn 1, allowing Hulkenberg, Sam Bird and Christian Vietoris through.

Once ahead, Hulkenberg relentlessly built up a winning margin over Bird. Clairay battled for fourth with Mika Maki, until the Finn stopped with a mechanical problem two laps from the finish.

This promoted James Jakes to fifth, Dani Clos to sixth, Erik Janis to seventh, while eighth, and pole for tomorrow's race, fell to Manor's Kazuya Oshima.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M 40:54.636 2. Sam Bird Manor D/M +2.263 3. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M +3.159 4. Yann Clairay SG D/M +11.194 5. James Jakes ART D/M +13.379 6. Dani Clos Prema D/M +14.150 7. Erik Janis Mucke D/M +14.731 8. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M +18.069 9. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V +19.215 10. Jon Lancaster ART D/M +20.148 11. Jens Klingmann RC D/V +24.617 12. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V +29.864 13. Peter Elkmann RC D/V +30.544 14. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M +31.072 15. Stefano Coletti Prema D/M +32.793 16. Niall Breen Manor D/M +40.354 17. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V +49.488 18. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M +57.694 19. Richard Philippe SG D/M +58.902 20. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M +1:03.918 21. Cong Fu Cheng RC D/V +1:04.666 22. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M +1 lap Not classified Driver Team Car Laps Mika Maki Mucke D/M 33 Renger van der Zande Prema D/M 32 Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M 9 Robert Wickens Signature D/V 3 Jules Bianchi ART D/M 0 Fastest lap, Waldschmidt 1:07.272 on lap 7 D/M = Dallara Mercedes, D/V = Dallara Volkswagen

Hulkenberg takes Barcelona pole

FCD’s ‘Bird Man’ starts to take flight

Hulkenberg takes Barcelona pole

Nico Hulkenberg took another step to wrapping up the Formula 3 Euro Series title by claiming pole position for race one at Barcelona today.

Hulkenberg battled for the top spot with ART teammate Jules Bianchi throughout the session, but the Frenchman was pipped for a front row start near the end by SG Formula's Yann Clairay.

It was a great session for the series' newest team, with former Carlin Motorsport driver Richard Philippe bagging a season's best fourth position.

It was a bad day for title chaser Edoardo Mortara, and the Signature-Plus man will face a tough test to score points from 15th on the grid. His teammate Robert Wickens was the top VW qualifier in ninth.

Carlin's new Euro Series driver, British F3 title contender Brendon Hartley, had a tough session and lines up 20th, three places ahead of teammate Rodolfo Gonzalez.

Briton Sam Bird was Manor's top man in sixth, while ART's James Jakes was 11th. His teammate Jon Lancaster had a woeful time and will start way back in 21st.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M 1:06.908 2. Yann Clairay SG D/M 1:06.966 +0.058 3. Jules Bianchi ART D/M 1:06.991 +0.083 4. Richard Philippe SG D/M 1:07.019 +0.111 5. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 1:07.120 +0.212 6. Sam Bird Manor D/M 1:07.124 +0.216 7. Mika Maki Mucke D/M 1:07.135 +0.227 8. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M 1:07.193 +0.285 9. Robert Wickens Signature D/V 1:07.259 +0.351 10. Dani Clos Prema D/M 1:07.274 +0.366 11. James Jakes ART D/M 1:07.320 +0.412 12. Erik Janis Mucke D/M 1:07.331 +0.423 13. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V 1:07.487 +0.579 14. Cheng Cong Fu RC D/V 1:07.493 +0.585 15. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V 1:07.500 +0.592 16. Stefano Coletti Prema D/M 1:07.512 +0.604 17. Daniel Campos-Hull HBR D/M 1:07.523 +0.615 18. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M 1:07.524 +0.616 19. Renger van der Zande Prema D/M 1:07.542 +0.634 20. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M 1:07.556 +0.648 21. Jon Lancaster ART D/M 1:07.562 +0.654 22. Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M 1:07.627 +0.719 23. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M 1:07.641 +0.733 24. Niall Breen Manor D/M 1:07.654 +0.746 25. Jens Klingmann RC D/V 1:07.886 +0.978 26. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V 1:07.943 +1.035 27. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M 1:07.967 +1.059 28. Peter Elkmann RC D/V 1:08.349 +1.441 29. Stephane Richelmi Epsilon Barazi D/M 1:08.396 +1.488

Hulkenberg claims pole at Zandvoort

Barcelona tops Guadalajara in friendly

Ever-positive attitude key for Zayner

Hartley given five-place grid penalty

British Formula 3 title chaser Brendon Hartley has been slapped with a five-place grid penalty on his F3 Euro Series return at Barcelona.

The Carlin Motorsport driver received a late call-up to the team's Euro Series squad after Richard Philippe defected to the rival SG Formula outfit.

But it's been a tough weekend for the New Zealander, who finds himself back in 25th on the grid after being judged to have blocked a rival car during qualifying.

"It's a bit frustrating given that I lost six or seven laps being blocked by another car," Hartley told autosport.com.

"I got the call from Carlin late on Monday afternoon, so it's a bit of a last-minute deal.

"It's been hard to get the best from the Kumho tyres over one lap, but I feel we've got good race pace when the tyres are worn. Carlin are obviously a very good team, so it's frustrating to find ourselves six tenths off the pace."

Hartley said he was unsure if he'd be taking part in the remaining Euro Series races at Le Mans and Hockenheim.

Chivas USA struggling to finish

Meyrick forced to miss Spa race

British Formula 3 championship National Class front-runner Andy Meyrick will be forced to miss this weekend's rounds at Spa-Francorchamps due to the same illness that kept him out of the Brands Hatch event earlier this month.

The 22-year-old Briton won the class in seven of the first 12 races of the season and led the standings until Brands, where Jay Bridger took the lead in his absence.

Meyrick has undergone several tests in hospital and is still too unwell to race at Spa.

"Obviously, I'm incredibly disappointed not to be able to race at Spa this weekend," he said. "Not only is it one of the most exciting tracks in Europe, but missing two more rounds is a massive blow to my season.

"Becoming ill in the middle of the year was the worst thing possible, but I have to put aside my frustration at the situation and focus on getting better soon."

Guerrieri tops second practice

Esteban Guerrieri topped the timesheet in a disrupted second practice session for this weekend's Masters of Formula 3 at Zolder.

The Argentinian, who is making a one-off return to Ultimate Motorsport for this event, lapped the circuit two seconds faster than the best time from the day's earlier session.

He was still on wet tyres as the circuit dried, while most drivers chose to return to the pits and change their cars to a dry set-up. But before any competitive times could be set on slicks, another sudden downpour drove them back into the pits and rendered the remaining half hour pointless.

There was so much standing water that no useful data could be gathered, so few cars bothered going back out.

Atte Mustonen finished with the second quickest time, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, Jean-Karl Vernay, and Franck Mailleux.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Esteban Guerrieri Ultimate M/M 1:33.873 2. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M 1:34.028 +0.155 3. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M 1:34.111 +0.238 4. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V 1:34.126 +0.253 5. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V 1:34.379 +0.506 6. James Jakes ART D/M 1:34.380 +0.507 7. Tom Dillman Jo Zeller D/M 1:34.410 +0.537 8. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 1:34.434 +0.561 9. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1:34.456 +0.583 10. Martin Plowman Signature D/V 1:34.495 +0.622 11. Renger van der Zande Prema D/M 1:34.660 +0.787 12. Jon Lancaster ART D/M 1:34.770 +0.897 13. Jules Bianchi ART D/M 1:34.776 +0.903 14. John Martin Double R D/M 1:34.873 +1.000 15. Richard Philippe Carlin D/M 1:35.046 +1.173 16. Mika Maki Mucke D/M 1:35.074 +1.201 17. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M 1:35.152 +1.279 18. Stefano Coletti Prema D/M 1:35.357 +1.484 19. Roberto Merhi Hitech D/M 1:36.207 +2.334 20. Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 1:36.214 +2.341 21. Erik Janis Mucke D/M 1:36.267 +2.394 22. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V 1:36.320 +2.447 23. Sam Bird Manor D/M 1:36.359 +2.486 24. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M 1:36.724 +2.851 25. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M 1:36.885 +3.012 26. Max Chilton Hitech D/M 1:37.247 +3.374 27. Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M 1:37.539 +3.666 28. Yann Clairay SG D/M 1:37.605 +3.732 29. Daniel Campos-Hull HBR D/M 1:37.665 +3.792 30. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M 1:37.813 +3.940 31. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M 1:38.268 +4.395 32. Dani Clos Prema D/M 1:38.876 +5.003 33. Daniel Ricciardo SG D/M 1:38.965 +5.092 34. Henry Arundel Double R D/M 1:40.788 +6.915 35. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M 1:40.790 +6.917 36. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M 1:42.417 +8.544 37. Niall Breen Manor D/M 1:43.287 +9.414

Turvey claims victory at Spa

Oliver Turvey claimed his second British Formula 3 victory of the season in today's race at Spa-Francorchamps.

The 21-year-old Briton has dominated the weekend up to this point and turned his pole position into a comfortable victory.

He didn't have it all his own way, though, and had to drive around his Carlin Motorsport teammate Brendon Hartley into Eau Rouge on the first lap to regain the lead after Hartley beat him down to La Source at the start.

Once he resumed the lead, Turvey settled into a rhythm, although the gap between the Racing Steps Foundation-backed driver and Hartley fluctuated between 0.5 and 1.5 seconds throughout the race.

Turvey was thrilled to clinch his first win since the opening round of the season in April and has closed the gap to Jaime Alguersuari at the top of the standings to just four points.

"It was interesting going through Eau Rouge side-by-side on the first lap," said Turvey. "It's great to be dominating, and it makes it even sweeter that it's at Spa.

"I had to push really hard every lap to make sure he couldn't get enough of a slipstream to pass me, but I knew I had the pace to control it, I've had that confidence all weekend."

Hartley was quick enough to stay with Turvey, but the leader had enough in hand that Hartley couldn't drag past on the long straights, but he was happy enough with second.

"I expected to be able to pass around here, this is Spa," he said. "But I just couldn't get near him, even in the slipstream. But he did a good job. I would have only needed him to make one mistake."

Alguersuari completed the podium with Sam Abay in wheeltracks completing a clean sweep of the top four places for Carlin.

John Martin was fifth for Double R, ahead of a race-long battle between Sergio Perez and Marcus Ericsson for sixth. The memories of the previous round at Brands Hatch will have come flooding back to Ericsson after spending his third consecutive race tucked under the rear wing of the Mexican's T-Sport car.

The Swede had been up to third on the first lap but came off worst when he, Alguersuari, Abay, and Perez ploughed into Eau Rouge together on lap two.

Michael Devaney finished eighth for Ultimate Motorsport, with Walter Grubmuller and Atte Mustonen completing the top ten.

Stefan Wilson won the National Class after passing Salman Al-Khalifa for 14th place overall on lap eight.

Guest driver Daniel Campos-Hull was set for a good showing with HBR Motorsport, but the Spaniard collided with Sebastian Hohenthal at Les Combes on lap eight while contesting tenth place and both retired on the spot.

Pos Driver Team Car Gap 1. Oliver Turvey Carlin D/M 27:10.800 2. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M +1.231 3. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M +7.540 4. Sam Abay Carlin D/M +8.651 5. John Martin Double R D/M +12.222 6. Sergio Perez T-Sport D/H +18.050 7. Marcus Ericsson Fortec D/M +18.437 8. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M +25.100 9. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M +25.626 10. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M +29.599 11. Alastair Jackson Ultimate M/M +36.394 12. Henry Arundel Double R D/M +38.011 13. Oliver Oakes Eurotek D/M +38.635 14. Stefan Wilson Fluid (N) D/H +44.867 15. Salman Al-Khalifa T-Sport (N) D/H +45.623 16. Jay Bridger Fluid (N) D/H +45.803 17. Max Chilton Hitech D/M +46.430 18. Steven Guerrero T-Sport (N) D/H +51.411 19. Hywel Lloyd CF (N) D/H +51.918 20. Phillip Major Fortec D/M +53.040 21. Kristjan Einar Carlin (N) D/H +1:02.343 22. Craig Reiff Nexa (N) D/H +1:26.032 23. Nick Tandy JTR M/M +1:29.828 Retirements Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 8 laps Daniel Campos-Hull HBR D/M 6 laps Sebastian Hohenthal Fortec D/M 6 laps Basil Shaaban HBR D/M 1 lap Fastest lap, Hartley 2:15.362 on lap 6

Turvey fights back to win race one

Oliver Turvey kept the momentum on his side in the British Formula 3 championship with victory in the first race at Silverstone today.

The Carlin Motorsport driver made a poor start from pole position, but chased down and passed teammate Brendon Hartley to take his second victory in three races.

Hartley made his getaway at the start but struggled for grip as the race wore on and eventually lost the lead when he oversteered at Copse and Turvey was able to drag past on the run down to Becketts.

"I could see that Brendon was struggling a lot and I knew I had the pace if I got a chance," said Turvey. "He made a msitake at Copse that allowed me to get side-by-side and pass him."

Turvey's victory, combined with Sergio Perez and Jaime Alguersuari finishing fourth and fifth, has closed the championship race yet further with three points now separating the trio.

"It's great to win again because it's closed the championship right up," added Turvey. "I'm now only two points off the lead and I'm starting ahead of both of them this afternoon."

Marcus Ericsson was a quiet third behind the Carlin duo, without the pace to say on terms with them but with enough to keep clear of Perez and Alguersuari.

John Martin was sixth for Double R, while Max Chilton and Sam Abay moved up to seventh and eighth when Nick Tandy hit Atte Mustonen at Abbey with five laps to go delayed both their races.

Stefan Wilson took his third National Class victory of the year, soaking up race-long pressure from his Fluid Motorsport teammate Jay Bridger but eventually pulling clear by putting Philip Major's Championship Class car between himself and Bridger on the penultimate lap.

Pos Driver Team Car Gap 1. Oliver Turvey Carlin D/M 30:46.015 2. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M +1.482 3. Marcus Ericsson Fortec D/M +4.228 4. Sergio Perez T-Sport D/H +6.299 5. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M +7.700 6. John Martin Double R D/M +9.180 7. Max Chilton Hitech D/M +12.895 8. Sam Abay Carlin D/M +13.789 9. Nick Tandy JTR M/M +20.938 10. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M +23.194 11. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M +28.089 12. Henry Arundel Double R D/M +35.463 13. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M +37.129 14. Alastair Jackson Ultimate M/M +42.644 15. Stefan Wilson Fluid (N) D/H +43.555 16. Philip Major Fortec D/M +44.096 17. Jay Bridger Fluid (N) D/H +44.876 18. Hywel Lloyd CF (N) D/H +47.045 19. Steven Guerrero T-Sport (N) D/H +49.564 20. Clemente Faria Jr Double R D/M +53.850 21. Salman Al-Khalifa T-Sport (N) D/H +1:01.336 22. Oliver Oakes Eurotek D/M +1:06.626 23. Craig Reiff Nexa (N) D/H +1:11.105 24. Kristjan Einar Carlin (N) D/H +1 lap Retirements Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 16 laps Jonathan Legris Litespeed (N) S/H 3 laps Fastest lap, Turvey 1:16.083 on lap 6

Bianchi takes Brands Hatch pole

Masters of F3 victor Jules Bianchi continued his dominant form by taking pole position for Saturday's round 13 of the Formula 3 Euro Series at Brands Hatch.

Run in split qualifying sessions for the first time for the Euro Series, due to Brands Hatch's ultra-short Indy circuit, Bianchi set the fastest time in the first session, for even-numbered cars, which stood as the quickest time overall.

Series leading ART Grand Prix teammate Nico Hulkenberg was fastest in the second session, but his 41.780 was over a tenth slower than Bianchi's 41.668.

Koudai Tsukakoshi will start third for Manor, his lap just 0.002 slower than Hulkenberg's, but even if he'd gone quicker than that he would still have started third due to the split sessions.

Sam Bird carries the flame for Britain with fourth place for Manor Motorsport, ahead of fellow Brit James Jakes (ART) - who was on pole here last year with Manor.

Christian Vietoris will start sixth for Mucke Motorsport, whose regular frontrunner Mika Maki will start 17th after he ran wide at Graham Hill Bend and damaged the underside of his car on the kerbs early on.

Yann Clairay was next up for SG Formula, ahead of former points leader Edoardo Mortara (Signature).

Ninth place starter Niall Breen brought the first session to a premature close when he shunted heavily on the exit of Paddock Hill Bend, swiping the right-hand corners off his Manor car.

Free practice pacesetter Renger van der Zande (Prema) could only manage tenth on the grid, with the third Brit, Jon Lancaster (ART), down in 12th.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Jules Bianchi ART D/M 41.668 2. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M 41.780 + 0.112 3. Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M 41.782 + 0.114 4. Sam Bird Manor D/M 41.795 + 0.127 5. James Jakes ART D/M 41.899 + 0.231 6. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 41.809 + 0.141 7. Yann Clairay SG D/M 41.966 + 0.298 8. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V 41.856 + 0.188 9. Niall Breen Manor D/M 41.970 + 0.302 10. Renger van der Zande Prema D/M 41.887 + 0.219 11. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V 41.975 + 0.307 12. Jon Lancaster ART D/M 42.029 + 0.361 13. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V 42.036 + 0.368 14. Daniel Clos Prema D/M 42.054 + 0.386 15. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M 42.065 + 0.397 16. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M 42.154 + 0.486 17. Mika Maki Mucke D/M 42.067 + 0.399 18. Stefano Coletti Prema D/M 42.161 + 0.493 19. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M 42.091 + 0.423 20. Daniel Campos HBR D/M 42.229 + 0.561 21. Erik Janis Mucke D/M 42.230 + 0.562 22. Cheng Cong Fu RC D/V 42.368 + 0.700 23. Jens Klingmann RC D/V 42.736 + 1.068 24. Richard Philippe Carlin D/M 42.525 + 0.857 25. Martin Plowman RC D/V 42.894 + 1.226 26. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M 42.683 + 1.015

Plowman replaces Wickens at Zolder

Formula 3 Euro Series racer Martin Plowman will replace Robert Wickens at Signature for this weekend's F3 Masters at Zolder.

The Briton drives for RC Motorsport in the Euro Series but as the team have elected not to enter the Masters, Plowman was free to switch to fellow Volkswagen-powered outfit Signature for the one-off event to gain more experience in his debut F3 season.

"I'm very grateful to have this one-off opportunity with Signature," he said. "This will be my first time at the Masters and is almost certainly the biggest race of my career so far.

"My aim will be just to enjoy it and learn as much as possible. I'm going to be working with some very experienced people, so my plan is to take away as much as possible. I'm sure it will be a massive help to me in the future."

Hulkenberg inherits Brands win

Nico Hulkenberg added another 10 points to his F3 Euro Series lead at Brands Hatch on Saturday when he inherited victory from his ART Grand Prix teammate Jules Bianchi, who lost a likely win when he was penalised for driving too fast under yellows.

Bianchi started from pole, and led comfortably into Paddock as Hulkenberg got too much wheelspin. Koudai Tsukakoshi (Manor) almost got past Hulkenberg around the outside of the first corner, while behind all hell let lose as James Jakes (ART) and Sam Bird (Manor) collided, sending Bird into a spin in front of the pack and out of the race.

Bianchi quickly pulled out a lead as Hulkenberg was struggling to get his tyres up to pressure without overheating the rears. Bianchi was 3 seconds up when he was shown the drive-through penalty board, as the race steward judged that he had improved his laptime under waved yellow flags. He was the first of six drivers to be penalised in this manner.

Bianchi pitted at half distance and rejoined seventh. He quickly dealt with sixth-placed Christian Vietoris at Druids, but when he tried to repeat the move on teammate Jakes a few laps later, he took both of them out into the gravel.

Hulkenberg, meanwhile, couldn't believe his luck and cruised to his fifth victory of the year. Tsukakoshi was 6 seconds behind at the flag, but well clear of third-placed Yann Clairay (SG), who leapt up from seventh on the grid at the start when he went around the Bird/Jakes clash.

Edoardo Mortara was a gutsy fourth for Signature, and the first of the VW-powered cars home. He just held off Vietoris as his tyres faded badly in the closing stages - a vital results as he bids to stay within reach of Hulkenberg's title lead.

Renger van der Zande (Prema) finished sixth, ahead of Signature duo Franck Mailleux and Jean Karl Vernay, who lock out the reverse grid front row for tomorrow's race.

Classified: Pos Driver Make Time 1. Nico Hulkenberg Dallara/Mercedes 40:38.243 2. K.Tsukakoshi Dallara/Mercedes + 5.966 3. Yann Clairay Dallara/Mercedes + 20.718 4. Edoardo Mortara Dallara/Volkswagen + 21.707 5. C.Vietoris Dallara/Mercedes + 22.396 6. R.van der Zande Dallara/Mercedes + 24.409 7. Franck Mailleux Dallara/Volkswagen + 26.202 8. Jean-Karl Vernay Dallara/Volkswagen + 27.106 9. Jon Lancaster Dallara/Mercedes + 27.728 10. H.Waldschmidt Dallara/Mercedes + 27.997 11. Jens Klingmann Dallara/Volkswagen + 1 Lap 12. Erik Janis Dallara/Mercedes + 1 Lap 13. Niall Breen Dallara/Mercedes + 1 Lap 14. Daniel Campos Dallara/Mercedes + 1 Lap 15. Richard Philippe Dallara/Mercedes + 1 Lap 16. Cheng Cong Fu Dallara/Volkswagen + 1 Lap 17. Daniel Clos Dallara/Mercedes + 1 Lap 18. Rodolfo Gonzalez Dallara/Mercedes + 1 Lap 19. Martin Plowman Dallara/Volkswagen + 1 Lap 20. Stefano Coletti Dallara/Mercedes + 2 Laps 21. Mika Maki Dallara/Mercedes + 4 Laps 22. James Jakes Dallara/Mercedes + 6 Laps 23. Jules Bianchi Dallara/Mercedes + 6 Laps Not classified: Driver Make Laps Kazuya Oshima Dallara/Mercedes 19 Basil Shaaban Dallara/Mercedes 9 Sam Bird Dallara/Mercedes 0 Fastest lap: Bianchi, 42.599

Hartley takes pole for race two

Brendon Hartley broke Oliver Turvey's run of pole positions with the fastest lap in qualifying for the second British Formula 3 race at Silverstone tomorrow.

The New Zealander had finished second to Turvey in the day's earlier session, but posted a 1:14.906 to claim the top spot this afternoon.

"I was a bit frustrated after the first session because I didn't feel I got the best lap together," he said. "But this is good for my championship with the other contenders behind me.

"It's going to be a big battle between me and Oliver with both of us on the front row for both races. I need to focus on winning both, so there's quite a lot of pressure. But I need to make up for mistakes made earlier in the season."

The front runners again waited until half way through qualifying before leaving the pits, and title protagonist Sergio Perez was first to the top of the timesheet.

Turvey went fastest with ten minutes remaining, but was pipped Hartley and then Tandy, who went top for a while in the JTR Mygale.

Hartley got down into the 1:14s to claim pole, and Turvey eventually pinched second back from Tandy with a final, late effort. Marcus Ericsson also produced his best lap late on to join Tandy on row two.

Perez qualified on row three for the second time today, ahead of Sam Abay, while Alguersuari will start only eighth, sharing the fourth row with Double R's John Martin.

Atte Mustonen and Philip Major rounded out the top ten, while Stefan Wilson was top of the National Class in 17th again.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M 1:14.906 2. Oliver Turvey Carlin D/M 1:15.016 +0.110 3. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1:15.136 +0.230 4. Marcus Ericsson Fortec D/M 1:15.186 +0.280 5. Sergio Perez T-Sport D/H 1:15.198 +0.292 6. Sam Abay Carlin D/M 1:15.234 +0.328 7. John Martin Double R D/M 1:15.240 +0.334 8. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M 1:15.321 +0.415 9. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M 1:15.522 +0.616 10. Philip Major Fortec D/M 1:15.650 +0.744 11. Max Chilton Hitech D/M 1:15.662 +0.756 12. Oliver Oakes Eurotek D/M 1:15.736 +0.830 13. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 1:15.852 +0.946 14. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M 1:15.891 +0.985 15. Henry Arundel Double R D/M 1:15.935 +1.029 16. Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 1:16.260 +1.354 17. Stefan Wilson Fluid (N) D/H 1:16.328 +1.422 18. Alastair Jackson Ultimate M/M 1:16.340 +1.434 19. Clemente Faria Jr Double R D/M 1:16.344 +1.438 20. Jay Bridger Fluid (N) D/H 1:16.352 +1.446 21. Salman Al-Khalifa T-Sport (N) D/H 1:16.583 +1.677 22. Steven Guerrero T-Sport (N) D/H 1:16.620 +1.714 23. Hywel Lloyd CF (N) D/H 1:16.711 +1.805 24. Kristjan Einar Carlin (N) D/H 1:17.469 +2.563 25. Craig Reiff Nexa (N) D/H 1:17.659 +2.752 26. Jonathan Legris Litespeed (N) D/H 1:18.076 +3.170

Meyrick forced to miss Spa race

British Formula 3 championship National Class front-runner Andy Meyrick will be forced to miss this weekend's rounds at Spa-Francorchamps due to the same illness that kept him out of the Brands Hatch event earlier this month.

The 22-year-old Briton won the class in seven of the first 12 races of the season and led the standings until Brands, where Jay Bridger took the lead in his absence.

Meyrick has undergone several tests in hospital and is still too unwell to race at Spa.

"Obviously, I'm incredibly disappointed not to be able to race at Spa this weekend," he said. "Not only is it one of the most exciting tracks in Europe, but missing two more rounds is a massive blow to my season.

"Becoming ill in the middle of the year was the worst thing possible, but I have to put aside my frustration at the situation and focus on getting better soon."

Turvey leads Bucharest practice day

Oliver Turvey looks set for another strong weekend of British F3 after setting the fastest time on the first day of practice at Bucharest.

The Briton has won three of the last four races and comes into this weekend's event in Romania with a nine-point championship lead. He was fifth quickest in the morning session before beating his Carlin Motorsport teammate Brendon Hartley to the top spot this afternoon.

"It's my first time on a street circuit so I'm really pleased to finish the day quickest," said Turvey, "It's great fun, you get really close to the walls, and I think I managed to find the limit in the second session.

"I think there's a little more to come, we'll look to see if we can make any improvements before qualifying tomorrow, but it's a good start to the weekend."

The street circuit's grip improved dramatically throughout the day and the quickest lap this afternoon was three and a half seconds faster than the morning's best effort.

It was Double R's Atte Mustonen the did the best lap of the morning, but he pushed too hard and crashed into the wall on his very next lap.

The four title contenders filled the next four places, with Carlin pair Hartley and Jaime Alguersuari second and third, and Sergio Perez just pipping Turvey to fourth.

But it was the afternoon session that gave the best representation of the pace that can be expected in qualifying tomorrow, and Turvey and Hartley were six tenths of a second clear of the field at the front.

Ericsson was third after he too crashed in the morning session, with Alguersuari fourth. Perez was only ninth this time, behind John Martin, Max Chilton, Mustonen, and Walter Grubmuller.

T-Sport's Steven Guerrero was the quickest National Class runner in each session and was a full eight tenths of a second clear of his nearest class rival by the end of the day.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Oliver Turvey Carlin D/M 1:13.537 2. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M 1:13.761 +0.224 3. Marcus Ericsson Fortec D/M 1:14.402 +0.865 4. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M 1:14.407 +0.870 5. John Martin Double R D/M 1:14.585 +1.048 6. Max Chilton Hitech D/M 1:14.679 +1.142 7. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M 1:14.728 +1.191 8. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 1:14.847 +1.310 9. Sergio Perez T-Sport D/H 1:14.973 +1.436 10. Sam Abay Carlin D/M 1:15.280 +1.743 11. Steven Guerrero T-Sport (N) D/H 1:15.797 +2.260 12. Henry Arundel Double R D/M 1:16.254 +2.717 13. Stefan Wilson Fluid (N) D/H 1:16.582 +3.045 14. Hywel Lloyd CF (N) D/H 1:16.635 +3.098 15. Oliver Oakes Eurotek D/M 1:16.658 +3.121 16. Jay Bridger Fluid (N) D/H 1:16.660 +3.123 17. Philip Major Fortec D/M 1:16.849 +3.312 18. Salman Al-Khalifa T-Sport (N) D/H 1:17.295 +3.758 19. Kristjan Einar Carlin (N) D/H 1:18.094 +4.557

Meyrick targets Donington return

British Formula 3 racer Andy Meyrick is recovering from the serious illness that has kept him out of the last two rounds and is targeting a return before the end of the season.

The Carlin Motorsport driver was leading the National Class standings with seven wins from the first 12 races when he fell ill before the races at Brands Hatch in July.

The 22-year-old spent three weeks in hospital, two of them in intensive care, undergoing tests and treatment. His recovery is progressing and, with no long-term effects he hopes to make his racing return at the season finale at Donington Park in October.

"I'd like to thank everyone for all the support I've received since becoming ill and, of course, the medical team who have looked after me for the last few weeks," he said. "If it wasn't for their professionalism, the outcome could have been much worse.

"It's been incredibly frustrating to miss the second half of the season but, having beaten an illness of this nature, my goal is to return as soon as possible and resume where I left off.

"Thankfully, there will be no long-lasting effects, so I'm fully committed to my racing and getting back to full fitness as soon as possible."

Turvey fights back to win race one

Oliver Turvey kept the momentum on his side in the British Formula 3 championship with victory in the first race at Silverstone today.

The Carlin Motorsport driver made a poor start from pole position, but chased down and passed teammate Brendon Hartley to take his second victory in three races.

Hartley made his getaway at the start but struggled for grip as the race wore on and eventually lost the lead when he oversteered at Copse and Turvey was able to drag past on the run down to Becketts.

"I could see that Brendon was struggling a lot and I knew I had the pace if I got a chance," said Turvey. "He made a msitake at Copse that allowed me to get side-by-side and pass him."

Turvey's victory, combined with Sergio Perez and Jaime Alguersuari finishing fourth and fifth, has closed the championship race yet further with three points now separating the trio.

"It's great to win again because it's closed the championship right up," added Turvey. "I'm now only two points off the lead and I'm starting ahead of both of them this afternoon."

Marcus Ericsson was a quiet third behind the Carlin duo, without the pace to say on terms with them but with enough to keep clear of Perez and Alguersuari.

John Martin was sixth for Double R, while Max Chilton and Sam Abay moved up to seventh and eighth when Nick Tandy hit Atte Mustonen at Abbey with five laps to go delayed both their races.

Stefan Wilson took his third National Class victory of the year, soaking up race-long pressure from his Fluid Motorsport teammate Jay Bridger but eventually pulling clear by putting Philip Major's Championship Class car between himself and Bridger on the penultimate lap.

Pos Driver Team Car Gap 1. Oliver Turvey Carlin D/M 30:46.015 2. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M +1.482 3. Marcus Ericsson Fortec D/M +4.228 4. Sergio Perez T-Sport D/H +6.299 5. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M +7.700 6. John Martin Double R D/M +9.180 7. Max Chilton Hitech D/M +12.895 8. Sam Abay Carlin D/M +13.789 9. Nick Tandy JTR M/M +20.938 10. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M +23.194 11. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M +28.089 12. Henry Arundel Double R D/M +35.463 13. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M +37.129 14. Alastair Jackson Ultimate M/M +42.644 15. Stefan Wilson Fluid (N) D/H +43.555 16. Philip Major Fortec D/M +44.096 17. Jay Bridger Fluid (N) D/H +44.876 18. Hywel Lloyd CF (N) D/H +47.045 19. Steven Guerrero T-Sport (N) D/H +49.564 20. Clemente Faria Jr Double R D/M +53.850 21. Salman Al-Khalifa T-Sport (N) D/H +1:01.336 22. Oliver Oakes Eurotek D/M +1:06.626 23. Craig Reiff Nexa (N) D/H +1:11.105 24. Kristjan Einar Carlin (N) D/H +1 lap Retirements Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 16 laps Jonathan Legris Litespeed (N) S/H 3 laps Fastest lap, Turvey 1:16.083 on lap 6

Mailleux wins Brands reverse grid race

Franck Mailleux won Sunday's reverse grid Formula 3 Euro Series race at Brands Hatch, heading home poleman Jean-Karl Vernay in a Signature 1-2.

The race was won and lost at the start, as Vernay struggled to contend with the notorious slope of the grid and allowed Mailleux to drive around the outside of him on the approach to Paddock Hill Bend.

Renger van der Zande held third, but his fellow second row starter, Christian Vietoris, stalled and would later be black flagged for a push-start from marshals. This promoted championship protagonist Edoardo Mortara to fourth, ahead of Yann Clairay, Koudai Tsukakoshi and series leader Nico Hulkenberg.

Hulkenberg passed Tsukakoshi on the exit of Druids on the opening lap, after braving it around the outside, and he would pass Clairay at the same place 26 laps later when the Frenchman made a mistake and ran wide.

He closed in on Mortara at the end, but was content to score two points in fifth, which meant Mortara only gained one on him today.

At the front, Mailleux pulled away to a dominant win, with Vernay able to hold van der Zande at bay for second.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V 34:41.673 2. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V + 5.159 3. Renger van der Zande Prema D/M + 5.675 4. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V + 6.531 5. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M + 6.712 6. Yann Clairay SG D/M + 10.221 7. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M + 11.023 8. Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M + 15.477 9. Cheng Cong Fu RC D/V + 16.471 10. Jon Lancaster ART D/M + 28.263 11. Jens Klingmann RC D/V + 29.211 12. Erik Janis Mucke D/M + 29.710 13. Daniel Campos HBR D/M + 30.395 14. Daniel Clos Prema D/M + 30.962 15. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M + 31.793 16. Mika Maki Mucke D/M + 32.116 17. James Jakes ART D/M + 32.623 18. Jules Bianchi ART D/M + 33.039 19. Sam Bird Manor D/M + 33.447 20. Niall Breen Manor D/M + 33.928 21. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M + 35.522 22. Martin Plowman RC D/V + 38.123 23. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M + 39.828 24. Richard Philippe Carlin D/M + 40.506 25. Stefano Coletti Prema D/M + 3 laps Retirements:Driver Team Car Laps Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 14

Guerrieri tops second practice

Esteban Guerrieri topped the timesheet in a disrupted second practice session for this weekend's Masters of Formula 3 at Zolder.

The Argentinian, who is making a one-off return to Ultimate Motorsport for this event, lapped the circuit two seconds faster than the best time from the day's earlier session.

He was still on wet tyres as the circuit dried, while most drivers chose to return to the pits and change their cars to a dry set-up. But before any competitive times could be set on slicks, another sudden downpour drove them back into the pits and rendered the remaining half hour pointless.

There was so much standing water that no useful data could be gathered, so few cars bothered going back out.

Atte Mustonen finished with the second quickest time, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, Jean-Karl Vernay, and Franck Mailleux.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Esteban Guerrieri Ultimate M/M 1:33.873 2. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M 1:34.028 +0.155 3. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M 1:34.111 +0.238 4. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V 1:34.126 +0.253 5. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V 1:34.379 +0.506 6. James Jakes ART D/M 1:34.380 +0.507 7. Tom Dillman Jo Zeller D/M 1:34.410 +0.537 8. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 1:34.434 +0.561 9. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1:34.456 +0.583 10. Martin Plowman Signature D/V 1:34.495 +0.622 11. Renger van der Zande Prema D/M 1:34.660 +0.787 12. Jon Lancaster ART D/M 1:34.770 +0.897 13. Jules Bianchi ART D/M 1:34.776 +0.903 14. John Martin Double R D/M 1:34.873 +1.000 15. Richard Philippe Carlin D/M 1:35.046 +1.173 16. Mika Maki Mucke D/M 1:35.074 +1.201 17. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M 1:35.152 +1.279 18. Stefano Coletti Prema D/M 1:35.357 +1.484 19. Roberto Merhi Hitech D/M 1:36.207 +2.334 20. Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 1:36.214 +2.341 21. Erik Janis Mucke D/M 1:36.267 +2.394 22. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V 1:36.320 +2.447 23. Sam Bird Manor D/M 1:36.359 +2.486 24. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M 1:36.724 +2.851 25. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M 1:36.885 +3.012 26. Max Chilton Hitech D/M 1:37.247 +3.374 27. Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M 1:37.539 +3.666 28. Yann Clairay SG D/M 1:37.605 +3.732 29. Daniel Campos-Hull HBR D/M 1:37.665 +3.792 30. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M 1:37.813 +3.940 31. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M 1:38.268 +4.395 32. Dani Clos Prema D/M 1:38.876 +5.003 33. Daniel Ricciardo SG D/M 1:38.965 +5.092 34. Henry Arundel Double R D/M 1:40.788 +6.915 35. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M 1:40.790 +6.917 36. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M 1:42.417 +8.544 37. Niall Breen Manor D/M 1:43.287 +9.414

Hulkenberg, Maki top first qualifying

Formula 3 Euro Series front runners Nico Hulkenberg and Mika Maki topped a qualifying session each this morning at the Masters of F3 at Zolder.

The 37-car field was split into two groups, divided by even and odd race numbers, with the fastest ten cars from each session going into Group A for final qualifying this afternoon.

That session will decide the first 20 places on the grid, while those 11th and below will go into the Group B session.

Hulkenberg topped the first, odd-number, session with a best lap of 1:24.971, before Maki went quickest in the even-number session, lowering the benckmark time to a 1:24.485.

Prema teammates Stefano Coletti and Renger van der Zande ran Hulkenberg close in the first group, finshing a couple of tenths back in second and third places. One more tenth covered fourth to eighth between Richard Philippe, Brendon Hartley, Christian Vietoris, and Michael Devaney.

The battle to for a place in the top ten was just as close, with half a tenth covering eighth to 11th places. Sam Bird was the unfortunate driver, missing out on a place in the A group by 0.018s, behind Jon Lancaster, Nick Tandy, and Hitech Racing debutant, Formula Renault regular Roberto Merhi.

British series race winner Atte Mustonen also missed the top ten, as did Esteban Guerrieri.

The track appeared to be around half a second quicker by the end of the second session than in the first, and most drivers elected to pit half way through for a new set of Kumho tyres.

Maki and Koudai Tsukakoshi traded fastest times in the last couple of minutes, with Maki having the last improvement to pull a tenth clear.

Jules Bianchi was third quickest, albeit half a second back from Maki, and just two tenths of a second covered seven cars from Bianchi in third to Euro Series championship leader Edoardo Mortara in ninth. Jaime Alguersuari was a whisker slower than Bianchi, with Dani Clos, Rodolfo Gonzalez, Max Chilton, and Henkie Waldschmidt slotting in ahead of Mortara.

A further three tenths included the battle for the top ten, with Daniel Campos-Hull narrowly edging out Jean-Karl Vernay, Erik Janis, and Niall Breen for the final place.

Expected front runner James Jakes also missed the top ten. The ART Grand Prix driver waited in the pits for the first half of the session, but couldn't climb above 16th place once he took to the circuit.

Group 1 Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M 1:24.971 2. Stefano Coletti Prema D/M 1:25.148 +0.177 3. Renger van der Zande Prema D/M 1:25.241 +0.270 4. Richard Philippe Carlin D/M 1:25.427 +0.456 5. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M 1:25.446 +0.475 6. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 1:25.472 +0.501 7. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M 1:25.584 +0.613 8. Jon Lancaster ART D/M 1:25.777 +0.806 9. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1:25.789 +0.818 10. Roberto Merhi Hitech D/M 1:25.805 +0.834 11. Sam Bird Manor D/M 1:25.823 +0.852 12. Yann Clairay SG D/M 1:26.059 +1.088 13. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M 1:26.211 +1.240 14. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V 1:26.321 +1.350 15. Esteban Guerrieri Ultimate M/M 1:26.352 +1.381 16. Tom Dillman Jo Zeller D/M 1:26.393 +1.422 17. Martin Plowman Signature D/V 1:26.541 +1.570 18. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M 1:26.606 +1.635 19. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M 1:26.798 +1.827 Group 2 Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Mika Maki Mucke D/M 1:24.485 2. Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M 1:24.586 +0.101 3. Jules Bianchi ART D/M 1:24.903 +0.418 4. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M 1:24.920 +0.435 5. Dani Clos Prema D/M 1:25.073 +0.588 6. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M 1:25.138 +0.653 7. Max Chilton Hitech D/M 1:25.141 +0.656 8. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M 1:25.169 +0.684 9. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V 1:25.195 +0.710 10. Daniel Campos-Hull HBR D/M 1:25.289 +0.804 11. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V 1:25.311 +0.826 12. Erik Janis Mucke D/M 1:25.386 +0.901 13. Niall Breen Manor D/M 1:25.447 +0.962 14. John Martin Double R D/M 1:25.675 +1.190 15. Daniel Ricciardo SG D/M 1:25.755 +1.270 16. James Jakes ART D/M 1:25.884 +1.399 17. Henry Arundel Double R D/M 1:26.022 +1.537 18. Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 1:26.673 +2.188D/M = Dallara Mercedes, M/M = Mygale Mercedes, D/V = Dallara Volkswagen

Turvey claims victory at Spa

Oliver Turvey claimed his second British Formula 3 victory of the season in today's race at Spa-Francorchamps.

The 21-year-old Briton has dominated the weekend up to this point and turned his pole position into a comfortable victory.

He didn't have it all his own way, though, and had to drive around his Carlin Motorsport teammate Brendon Hartley into Eau Rouge on the first lap to regain the lead after Hartley beat him down to La Source at the start.

Once he resumed the lead, Turvey settled into a rhythm, although the gap between the Racing Steps Foundation-backed driver and Hartley fluctuated between 0.5 and 1.5 seconds throughout the race.

Turvey was thrilled to clinch his first win since the opening round of the season in April and has closed the gap to Jaime Alguersuari at the top of the standings to just four points.

"It was interesting going through Eau Rouge side-by-side on the first lap," said Turvey. "It's great to be dominating, and it makes it even sweeter that it's at Spa.

"I had to push really hard every lap to make sure he couldn't get enough of a slipstream to pass me, but I knew I had the pace to control it, I've had that confidence all weekend."

Hartley was quick enough to stay with Turvey, but the leader had enough in hand that Hartley couldn't drag past on the long straights, but he was happy enough with second.

"I expected to be able to pass around here, this is Spa," he said. "But I just couldn't get near him, even in the slipstream. But he did a good job. I would have only needed him to make one mistake."

Alguersuari completed the podium with Sam Abay in wheeltracks completing a clean sweep of the top four places for Carlin.

John Martin was fifth for Double R, ahead of a race-long battle between Sergio Perez and Marcus Ericsson for sixth. The memories of the previous round at Brands Hatch will have come flooding back to Ericsson after spending his third consecutive race tucked under the rear wing of the Mexican's T-Sport car.

The Swede had been up to third on the first lap but came off worst when he, Alguersuari, Abay, and Perez ploughed into Eau Rouge together on lap two.

Michael Devaney finished eighth for Ultimate Motorsport, with Walter Grubmuller and Atte Mustonen completing the top ten.

Stefan Wilson won the National Class after passing Salman Al-Khalifa for 14th place overall on lap eight.

Guest driver Daniel Campos-Hull was set for a good showing with HBR Motorsport, but the Spaniard collided with Sebastian Hohenthal at Les Combes on lap eight while contesting tenth place and both retired on the spot.

Pos Driver Team Car Gap 1. Oliver Turvey Carlin D/M 27:10.800 2. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M +1.231 3. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M +7.540 4. Sam Abay Carlin D/M +8.651 5. John Martin Double R D/M +12.222 6. Sergio Perez T-Sport D/H +18.050 7. Marcus Ericsson Fortec D/M +18.437 8. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M +25.100 9. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M +25.626 10. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M +29.599 11. Alastair Jackson Ultimate M/M +36.394 12. Henry Arundel Double R D/M +38.011 13. Oliver Oakes Eurotek D/M +38.635 14. Stefan Wilson Fluid (N) D/H +44.867 15. Salman Al-Khalifa T-Sport (N) D/H +45.623 16. Jay Bridger Fluid (N) D/H +45.803 17. Max Chilton Hitech D/M +46.430 18. Steven Guerrero T-Sport (N) D/H +51.411 19. Hywel Lloyd CF (N) D/H +51.918 20. Phillip Major Fortec D/M +53.040 21. Kristjan Einar Carlin (N) D/H +1:02.343 22. Craig Reiff Nexa (N) D/H +1:26.032 23. Nick Tandy JTR M/M +1:29.828 Retirements Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 8 laps Daniel Campos-Hull HBR D/M 6 laps Sebastian Hohenthal Fortec D/M 6 laps Basil Shaaban HBR D/M 1 lap Fastest lap, Hartley 2:15.362 on lap 6

Hartley charges to Spa victory

Brendon Hartley pulled off a brave last lap pass on Sergio Perez to claim victory in today's chaotic British Formula 3 race at Spa-Francorchamps.

Polesitter Oliver Turvey's engine broke on the warm-up lap and he stranded on the line as the lights went out at the start. That left Marcus Ericsson and Sam Abay to contest the lead on the run down to La Source, but Abay braked too late on the inside and slid into the side of Ericsson, forcing both wide and letting Perez and Nick Tandy through.

Tandy slipstreamed Perez and took the lead into Eau Rouge, but Perez took it straight back on the run up to Les Combes.

Perez then built himself a lead in the early laps, ahead of Tandy, Jaime Alguersuari, Ericsson, and Hartley.

But it was Hartley who emerged as the driver with the greater pace and picked his rivals off one by one. He ducked inside Ericsson into Les Combes on lap two, passed Alguersuari two laps later for third, and set about taking second from Tandy.

He was made to work a bit harder for that and Tandy's defense of his line at the end of the straights was immaculate. After a few laps of trying, Hartley made a move stick around the outside into Les Combes.

By this time Perez was nearly three seconds ahead, but Hartley charged up to the back of the T-Sport car and made the decisive move on the final lap.

He had a good run out of Eau Rouge and when Perez moved right to cover the inside, Hartley used the slipstream to slingshot up the outside. He was still behind as they approached, but he braked later and held on round the outside to seal the place.

Tandy held Alguersuari off to score his and the JTR team's first podium, with Ericsson fifth and guest driver Daniel Campos-Hull completing the top six for HBR Motorsport.

Jay Bridger also pulled off a last lap pass to earn the victory in the National Class, pinching the place back from Steven Guerrero who had taken it from him earlier in the race.

Results to follow

Turvey takes third straight F3 pole

Oliver Turvey clinched his third consecutive British Formula 3 pole position for the first race at Silverstone tomorrow.

The Carlin Motorsport driver picked up where he left off at Spa-Francorchamps two weeks ago and has now topped seven of the last eight sessions in the championship.

"It was good to continue the form we had a Spa and be quickest in practice and then quickest in first qualifying," said Turvey. "Hopefully we can continue to be at the front for the rest of the weekend.

"I didn't have any lap times on my dash, so it was quite relaxing. I knew from my pit board that I was P1 for the majority of the session, and as long as that didn't change I just kept driving as quick as I could."

All the front runners left it until half way through the 30-minute session to venture out of the pits, and Turvey went straight to the top of the times. He then had to improve his best lap twice to see off challenges from Marcus Ericsson and Brendon Hartley.

Hartley's best effort was good enough for the front row, just over a tenth shy of Turvey, with Ericsson heading the second row alongside the session's early pace setter John Martin.

Championship leaders Jaime Alguersuari and Sergio Perez will line up on the third row of the grid, ahead of Atte Mustonen and Max Chilton.

Nick Tandy was the best of the Mygales in ninth, with Sam Abay completing the top ten for Carlin.

Stefan Wilson leads the National Class runners in 17th place overall, just a tenth ahead of his Fluid Motorsport teammate Jay Bridger.

Clemente Faria Jr is making his British F3 debut this weekend for Raikkonen Robertson Racing. The reigning South American F3 champion qualified 18th for tomorrow's first race.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Oliver Turvey Carlin D/M 1:15.000 2. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M 1:15.131 +0.131 3. Marcus Ericsson Fortec D/M 1:15.302 +0.302 4. John Martin Double R D/M 1:15.365 +0.365 5. Jaime Alguersuaru Carlin D/M 1:15.376 +0.376 6. Sergio Perez T-Sport D/H 1:15.549 +0.549 7. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M 1:15.560 +0.560 8. Max Chilton Hitech D/M 1:15.577 +0.577 9. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1:15.614 +0.614 10. Sam Abay Carlin D/M 1:15.660 +0.660 11. Philip Major Fortec D/M 1:15.714 +0.714 12. Henry Arundel Double R D/M 1:15.735 +0.735 13. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 1:16.213 +1.213 14. Oliver Oakes Eurotek D/M 1:16.335 +1.335 15. Alastair Jackson Ultiamte M/M 1:16.409 +1.409 16. Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 1:16.439 +1.439 17. Stefan Wilson Fluid (N) D/H 1:16.532 +1.532 18. Clemente Faria Jr Double R D/M 1:16.659 +1.659 19. Jay Bridger Fluid (N) D/H 1:16.689 +1.689 20. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M 1:16.913 +1.913 21. Hywel Lloyd CF (N) D/H 1:17.027 +2.027 22. Steven Guerreri T-Sport (N) D/H 1:17.160 +2.160 23. Salman Al-Khalifa T-Sport (N) D/H 1:17.226 +2.226 24. Craig Reiff Nexa (N) D/H 1:17.740 +2.740 25. Kristjan Einar Carlin (N) D/H 1:18.134 +3.134 26. Jonathan Legris Litespeed (N) D/H no time

Hohenthal eyes F3 return at Macau

Sebastian Hohenthal could return to Fortec Motorsport for the end of season Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix despite walking away from his British championship campaign with the team.

The Swede has not fulfilled his desire to fight for the title, in this his second year in the series, and stepped down for last weekend's Silverstone round with the championship out of reach.

"My goal was to win the championship this year, or at least be fighting in the top three," he told autosport.com. "Half way through it was looking ok, but Brands and Spa were not good and now we're not able to fight for the championship

"It's a tough decision to stop, but it has to be made if we can't achieve what we set out to do. I am looking around at options now and I don't have a plan yet but I could still do Macau."

Hohenthal's last-minute decision meant Fortec only ran two cars at Silverstone and will just take two to Bucharest this weekend, but team boss Richard Dutton says the third car will be filled for the season finale at Donington Park in October.

"It was a bit too short notice to put something together but we'll definitely have a third driver at Donington," he told autosport.com.

"Ideally, it will be someone who we plan to run next season, maybe one of our drivers from Formula Renault. And then we might have Seb back out at Macau."

Hulkenberg dominates at Nurburgring

Nico Hulkenberg charged back onto terms at the head of the Formula 3 Euro Series with a dominant victory at Nurburgring today.

The German, who lost ground when he was excluded from first place at Zandvoort last time out, took the lead at the start when polesitter Christian Vietoris stalled and cruised to a comfortable seven-second victory over his ART Grand Prix teammate Jules Bianchi.

"To win is never easy," said Hulkenberg. "Especially when you have such a big gap because you have to stay focused and it's easy to lose concentration.

"But it's nice to be leading when you're quicker than everyone else and you can just drive away from them."

Bianchi had started fourth, but beat Tom Dillman off the line and also benefitted from Vietoris's fluffed getaway.

Dillman kept Mika Maki at arm's length throughout the race to claim a podium on his series return for Jo Zeller Racing.

Behind Maki, Renger van der Zande was a lonely fifth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, who was sixth on his F3 debut. Jon Lancaster saw off a spirited attack from Niall Breen to hold seventh and the pair will form the front row for tomorrow's race with Breen on pole.

Elsewhere, championship leader Edoardo Mortara retired in the pits at the end of a chaotic first lap. Dani Clos and Erik Janis also had to call it day with damage to their cars, while Sam Bird rejoined after pitting for repairs following a first corner clash.

Vietoris was also forced to retire later in the race when he lost his rear wing in an accident with James Jakes, who also stalled at the start.

The pair were attempting to make their way back up the order when Jakes lost control under braking for the final chicane and clattered over the back of the German's Mucke Motorsport car.

Pos Driver Team Car Gap 1. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M 41:11.039 2. Jules Bianchi ART D/M +6.748 3. Tom Dillmann Jo Zeller D/M +9.047 4. Mika Maki Mucke D/M +9.878 5. Renger van der Zande Prema D/M +17.767 6. Daniel Ricciardo SG D/M +23.337 7. Jon Lancaster ART D/M +27.771 8. Niall Breen Manor D/M +29.040 9. Stefano Coletti Prema D/M +33.458 10. Richard Philippe Carlin D/M +33.526 11. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M +34.041 12. Robert Wickens Signature D/V +40.689 13. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V +43.802 14. Yann Clairay SG D/M +44.853 15. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M +47.055 16. Jens Klingmann RC D/V +48.306 17. Martin Plowman RC D/V +54.669 18. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V +55.311 19. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M +1:11.060 20. Daniel Campos-Hull HBR D/M +1:15.034 21. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M +1:15.848 22. Sam Bird Manor D/M +1 lap 23. Cheng Cong Fu RC D/V +1 lap 24. James Jakes ART D/M +3 laps Retirements Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M 17 laps Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 8 laps Brendon Hartley RC D/V 5 laps Erik Janis Mucke D/M 1 lap Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V 1 lap Dani Clos Prema D/M 1 lap Fastest lap, Hulkenberg 1:24.296 on lap 7D/M = Dallara Mercedes, D/V = Dallara Volkswagen

Bianchi wins F3 Masters at Zolder

Jules Bianchi produced an outstanding wet weather drive to claim his maiden Formula 3 victory in the Masters of F3 at Zolder today.

The French rookie started alongside his ART Grand Prix teammate Nico Hulkenberg on the front row and surged into the lead when Hulkenberg fluffed the start.

He was able to maintain a gap over the favourite for the first half of the race and then pull clear to take a comfortably victory in tricky drying conditions.

Bianchi, only in his second year of car racing, traded fastest laps with Hulkenberg throughout the race as the wet circuit gradually dried up, and his more experienced teammate had no answer for his pace.

"I'm really happy to get my first win in the Masters," said Bianchi. "I tried to make a gap in the first laps but Nico was quick. After it dried a bit it was easier for me, although it was very difficult at the end because the front tyres were finished.

"My grandfather and uncle were Belgian racing drivers (Turn Four is named after his uncle) so it's very special for me to win here."

Hulkenberg was lucky to survive to finish second after getting caught up in an accident off the line. Renger van der Zande tangled with Koudai Tsukakoshi as both tried to go round the slow-starting Hulkenberg. Van der Zande spun across the front of Tsukakoshi and into the wall. That incident triggered several more on the first lap as multiple collisions sent cars flying off the road at each chicane.

The leaders had to deal with backmarkers from the first few laps of the race as several recovered from their incidents. A few more chose to gamble on slicks while their having damaged repaired in the pits but circulated 10 seconds per lap slower than those on wets for most of the race.

Bianchi picked his way through the traffic well and stretched his lead over Hulkenberg to more than five seconds in the second have of the race, before easing off in the last two laps to protect his overheating wet tyres.

Hulkenberg pulled well clear in second, with Jon Lancaster completing an all-ART podium in third. The Briton had stayed with his teammates in the early stages but lost time behind backmarkers on consecutive laps and couldn't make it back up.

Mika Maki had a quiet race in fourth, while Brendon Hartley finished as the top British championship runner in fifth. It took him half the race to clear Daniel Campos-Hull, by which time those ahead had disappeared up the road, forcing him to settle for fifth.

The battle of the race raged behind Hartley as more than half a dozen cars contested sixth place. Jaime Alguersuari slipped backwards, while his Carlin Motorsport teammate Richard Philippe clipped Henkie Waldschmidt causing both the spin. Rodolfo Gonzalez tried a similar move on Campos-Hull at the final chicane and knocked the Spaniard out of the race.

That cleared the way for Atte Mustonen and Sam Bird to move into sixth and seventh places from 24th and 22nd on the grid. Both were unlucky to miss the cut for yesterday's top 20 shootout but showed their true pace today as they charged through the pack.

Mustonen set the fastest lap of the race on wet tyres, before Max Chilton snatched it at the end as the circuit favoured slicks in the last two laps.

Pos Driver Team Car Gap 1. Jules Bianchi ART D/M 45:19.275 2. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M +4.495 3. Jon Lancaster ART D/M +20.539 4. Mika Maki Mucke D/M +27.030 5. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M +34.170 6. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M +40.536 7. Sam Bird Manor D/M +53.861 8. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M +57.479 9. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M +1:03.294 10. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V +1:10.049 11. Erik Janis Mucke D/M +1:14.649 12. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M +1:14.810 13. Henry Arundel Double R D/M +1:18.153 14. Martin Plowman Signature D/V +1:20.051 15. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V +1:27.377 16. Tom Dillman Jo Zeller D/M +1 lap 17. James Jakes ART D/M +1 lap 18. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M +1 lap 19. Esteban Guerrieri Ultimate M/M +1 lap 20. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M +1 lap 21. Max Chilton Hitech D/M +2 laps 22. Niall Breen Manor D/M +2 laps 23. John Martin Double R D/M +2 laps Retirements Yann Clairay SG D/M 25 laps Stefano Coletti Prema D/M 24 laps Nick Tandy JTR M/M 23 laps Roberto Merhi Hitech D/M 21 laps Daniel Campos-Hull HBR D/M 19 laps Richard Philippe Carlin D/M 16 laps Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M 15 laps Dani Clos Prema D/M 6 laps Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M 1 lap Renger van der Zande Prema D/M 0 laps Daniel Ricciardo SG D/M 0 laps Basil Shaaban HBR D/M 0 laps Franck Mailleux Signature D/V 0 laps Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 0 laps Fastest lap, Chilton 1:31.197 on lap 24D/M = Dallara Mercedes, D/V = Dallara Volkswagen, M/M = Mygale Mercedes

Turvey does the double at Silverstone

Oliver Turvey completed the first double victory of his British Formula 3 career and took over the championship lead at Silverstone today.

The 21-year-old Racing Steps Foundation-backed driver added another win to his earlier effort this morning with another commanding drive on Silverstone's International circuit.

In a reverse of this morning's start, Turvey beat polesitter Brendon Hartley away from the line. But while Hartley plummeted down the order, Turvey took Marcus Ericsson with him and the pair escaped up front.

This time Ericsson had the pace to stay with Turvey, but not enough to challenge for the lead. He had to sit and wait for a mistake that never came and Turvey completed a near perfect weekend.

"It's nice to take the lead (of the championship) with two rounds to go, I just have to hold onto it now," he said.

Behind the lead pair, Sam Abay was set for his first podium of the season until Nick Tandy ran him down on the final lap. Tandy took the place at Becketts and the pair collided when Abay tried to regain it in the complex at the end of the lap. Tandy survived to claim the final podium spot while Abay's race ended there in the gravel.

There was more decisive contact further down the field as the lead of the National Class changed on the penultimate lap. Stefan Wilson was on his way to a double win when he got held up by Henry Arundel's Championship Class car and got backed into the chasing pack.

Salman Al-Khalifa took the chance to dive up the inside at Brooklands but hit the side of Wilson's car and spun him out of the lead. Hywel Lloyd came through to inherit the win, with class leader Jay Bridger second.

Serio Perez finished fourth overall to at least stay in touch with Turvey in the standings, with fellow title hopeful Jaime Alguersuari frustrated behind Atte Mustonen in sixth.

Pos Driver Team Car Gap 1. Oliver Turvey Carlin D/M 30:45.552 2. Marcus Ericsson Fortec D/M +1.009 3. Nick Tandy JTR M/M +12.697 4. Sergio Perez T-Sport D/H +14.937 5. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M +18.703 6. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M +19.291 7. John Martin Double R D/M +26.280 8. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M +26.936 9. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M +27.318 10. Max Chilton Hitech D/M +27.818 11. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M +28.721 12. Philip Major Fortec D/M +29.382 13. Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M +39.748 14. Oliver Oakes Eurotek D/M +40.059 15. Henry Arundel Double R D/M +49.682 16. Hywel Lloyd CF (N) D/H +51.336 17. Jay Bridger Fluid (N) D/H +51.501 18. Clemente Faria Jr Double R D/M +53.119 19. Salman Al-Khalifa T-Sport (N) D/H +54.425 20. Steven Guerrero T-Sport (N) D/H +54.941 21. Jonathan Legris Litespeed (N) D/H +1:14.776 22. Craig Reiff Nexa (N) D/H +1 lap 23. Kristjan Einar Carlin (N) D/H +1 lap Retirements Sam Abay Carlin D/M 23 laps Alastair Jackson Ultimate M/M 23 laps Stefan Wilson Fluid (N) D/H 21 laps Fastest lap, Turvey 1:16.296 on lap 8

Bianchi takes Brands Hatch pole

Masters of F3 victor Jules Bianchi continued his dominant form by taking pole position for Saturday's round 13 of the Formula 3 Euro Series at Brands Hatch.

Run in split qualifying sessions for the first time for the Euro Series, due to Brands Hatch's ultra-short Indy circuit, Bianchi set the fastest time in the first session, for even-numbered cars, which stood as the quickest time overall.

Series leading ART Grand Prix teammate Nico Hulkenberg was fastest in the second session, but his 41.780 was over a tenth slower than Bianchi's 41.668.

Koudai Tsukakoshi will start third for Manor, his lap just 0.002 slower than Hulkenberg's, but even if he'd gone quicker than that he would still have started third due to the split sessions.

Sam Bird carries the flame for Britain with fourth place for Manor Motorsport, ahead of fellow Brit James Jakes (ART) - who was on pole here last year with Manor.

Christian Vietoris will start sixth for Mucke Motorsport, whose regular frontrunner Mika Maki will start 17th after he ran wide at Graham Hill Bend and damaged the underside of his car on the kerbs early on.

Yann Clairay was next up for SG Formula, ahead of former points leader Edoardo Mortara (Signature).

Ninth place starter Niall Breen brought the first session to a premature close when he shunted heavily on the exit of Paddock Hill Bend, swiping the right-hand corners off his Manor car.

Free practice pacesetter Renger van der Zande (Prema) could only manage tenth on the grid, with the third Brit, Jon Lancaster (ART), down in 12th.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Jules Bianchi ART D/M 41.668 2. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M 41.780 + 0.112 3. Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M 41.782 + 0.114 4. Sam Bird Manor D/M 41.795 + 0.127 5. James Jakes ART D/M 41.899 + 0.231 6. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 41.809 + 0.141 7. Yann Clairay SG D/M 41.966 + 0.298 8. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V 41.856 + 0.188 9. Niall Breen Manor D/M 41.970 + 0.302 10. Renger van der Zande Prema D/M 41.887 + 0.219 11. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V 41.975 + 0.307 12. Jon Lancaster ART D/M 42.029 + 0.361 13. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V 42.036 + 0.368 14. Daniel Clos Prema D/M 42.054 + 0.386 15. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M 42.065 + 0.397 16. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M 42.154 + 0.486 17. Mika Maki Mucke D/M 42.067 + 0.399 18. Stefano Coletti Prema D/M 42.161 + 0.493 19. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M 42.091 + 0.423 20. Daniel Campos HBR D/M 42.229 + 0.561 21. Erik Janis Mucke D/M 42.230 + 0.562 22. Cheng Cong Fu RC D/V 42.368 + 0.700 23. Jens Klingmann RC D/V 42.736 + 1.068 24. Richard Philippe Carlin D/M 42.525 + 0.857 25. Martin Plowman RC D/V 42.894 + 1.226 26. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M 42.683 + 1.015

Lancaster takes maiden F3 victory

Jon Lancaster scored his maiden Formula 3 victory in the Euro Series round at the Nurburgring today.

The Briton started behind Breen on the front row thanks to his seventh place in yesterday's race and beat the Irishman round the first corner.

He was able to control the race comfortably for the duration, despite a mid-race Safety Car period splitting the race in two.

"It's been a long time coming." said a relieved Lancaster after the race. "I had a podium at Pau and have been quick in testing, but I've not been able to put it together in in qualifying yet.

"That happened again this weekend so we've still got some work to do, but I managed to take some good points from two sensible races. I pushed quite hard from the start to get a second's lead and just had to make sure I didn't make a mistake from there."

Lancaster's ART Grand Prix teammate Jules Bianchi clinched his second podium finish of the weekend in third, with Nico Hulkenberg making it three ART cars in the top four as he reduced Edoardo Mortara's championship lead to a single point.

Hulkenberg made impressive progress through the top eight during the race after yesterday's win pushed him back to the fourth row for today's race.

He dived inside Kazuya Oshima for sixth place at the first corner on lap four and quickly chased down Prema's Stefano Coletti. He spent most of the race stuck behind Coletti but eventually squeezed ahead at Turn One on lap 19.

The first four cars were nearly three seconds up the road by this point, but Hulkenberg cruised up to the back of them and the pressure paid off as fourth place fell into his lap when Tom Dillman ran wide coming onto the back straight and Hulkenberg capitalised.

It was a near perfect weekend for Hulkenberg's championship challenge as Mortara's woe continued today.

The Italian had to start from the penultimate row after yesterday's retirement and was running in the pack when he was hit from behind by Dani Clos. The contact removed Mortara's rear wing and although he continued, he was well outside the points.

Mika Maki also gave away ground to Hulkenberg today. He started fifth today but Daniel Ricciardo, immediately ahead of him on the grid, stalled at the start. Maki tried to swerve round him but clipped the SG Formula car with his left rear wheel and retired on the spot with broken suspension.

The other title hopeful coming into this weekend, Renger van der Zande, also stalled at the start from fourth on the grid, and later retired from the race in the pits.

Pos Driver Team Car Gap 1. Jon Lancaster ART D/M 40:40.779 2. Niall Breen Manor D/M +0.723 3. Jules Bianchi ART D/M +2.008 4. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M +2.636 5. Tom Dillmann Jo Zeller D/M +3.514 6. Yann Clairay SG D/M +7.182 7. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V +9.293 8. Daniel Campos-Hull HBR D/M +13.530 9. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V +15.341 10. Jens Klingmann RC D/V +18.107 11. Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M +18.964 12. Erik Janis Mucke D/M +19.975 13. Cheng Cong Fu RC D/V +22.606 14. Brendon Hartley RC D/V +24.021 15. Daniel Ricciardo SG D/M +24.621 16. Robert Wickens Signature D/V +25.049 17. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M +25.393 18. Richard Philippe Carlin D/M +26.084 19. Sam Bird Manor D/M +26.833 20. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M +31.186 21. Martin Plowman RC D/V +39.618 22. James Jakes ART D/M +47.522 23. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V +55.432 24. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M +2 laps 25. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M +2 laps Retirements Stefano Coletti Prema D/M 20 laps Dani Clos Prema D/M 20 laps Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 17 laps Renger van der Zande Prema D/M 14 laps Mika Maki Mucke D/M 0 laps Fastest lap, Hulkenberg 1:24.654 on lap 6 D/M = Dallara Mercedes, D/V = Dallara Volkswagen

Turvey pinches pole from Hartley

Oliver Turvey clinched pole position for this weekend's second British Formula 3 race on the streets of Bucharest.

Turvey, who finished second to Brendon Hartley in yesterday's race, pinched pole from the New Zealander by 0.003s today with his last lap of the session.

The session was broken up into three parts thanks to a couple of errors at the fast right kink at the back of the circuit.

Atte Mustonen was first up, hitting the wall hard as he slid sideways through the corner just five minutes into the session.

After the restart, Hartley and Turvey swapped the top spot back and forth as the times dropped from high to low 1:12s

Sam Abay was next into the wall at the right kink, altough he did at least manage to drag his mangled car off the track and out of harm's way.

But it was only three more minutes until Steven Guerrero clouted the wall in the same place - for the second time this weekend - and the session had to be stopped again with his car broadside in the middle of the road.

That left just four minutes of qualifying at the end, and Turvey was the only one of the front runners to improve his time - lapping just three thousandths of a second quicker than Hartley.

"We found a little more time this morning, and I thought before the session we had the pace to get pole," said Turvey. "I knew I had to really push in the final few laps when the session restarted.

He added that he will try to put the championship out of his mind for now - he leads by 17 points with just three races left: "I'm just aiming to get a good start and win the race this afternoon, I'm not thinking any further ahead than that at the moment."

Jaime Alguersuari completed another Carlin Motorsport clean sweep of the top three, with John Martin fourth for Double R.

Hitech Racing filled row three with Max Chilton and Walter Grubmuller producing their best efforts of the weekend.

Esteban Guerrieri was top Mygale in seventh, ahead of Marcus Ericsson, while Abay's best lap before his crash put him ninth. Sergio Perez completed the top ten for T-Sport.

Newly-crowned National Class champion Jay Bridger took the class pole, ahead of Hywel Lloyd. Guerrero was third despite his accident and Stefan Wilson completed a quartet of National cars from 14th to 17th places.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Oliver Turvey Carlin D/M 1:12.036 2. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M 1:12.039 +0.003 3. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M 1:12.535 +0.499 4. John Martin Double R D/M 1:12.959 +0.923 5. Max Chilton Hitech D/M 1:12.995 +0.959 6. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 1:13.016 +0.980 7. Esteban Guerrieri Ultimate M/M 1:13.054 +1.018 8. Marcus Ericsson Fortec D/M 1:13.254 +1.218 9. Sam Abay Carlin D/M 1:13.435 +1.399 10. Sergio Perez T-Sport D/H 1:13.439 +1.403 11. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M 1:13.506 +1.470 12. Oliver Oakes Eurotek D/M 1:13.781 +1.745 13. Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 1:13.801 +1.765 14. Jay Bridger Fluid (N) D/H 1:13.879 +1.843 15. Hywel Lloyd CF (N) D/H 1:14.143 +2.107 16. Steven Guerrero T-Sport (N) D/H 1:14.377 +2.341 17. Stefan Wilson Fluid (N) D/H 1:14.589 +2.553 18. Henry Arundel Double R D/M 1:14.660 +2.624 19. Philip Major Fortec D/M 1:15.133 +3.097 20. Salman Al-Khalifa T-Sport (N) D/H 1:15.135 +3.099 21. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M 1:16.589 +4.553