Daniel Ricciardo and the Carlin Motorsport team made it two out of two in the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series at Oulton Park this afternoon, the Australian following up his round 1 race win with another lights-to-flag victory performance.
Ricciardo's second win was even more impressive than the first, as it required him to overhaul the car of pole-sitter Walter Grubmuller not once, but twice in what was a restarted race. The first race had to be abandoned on the opening lap after a two-car collision left wreckage strewn across the track; unfazed by the interruption, Ricciardo caught Grubmuller out at the restart also.
"The restart was a setback," said Red Bull racer Daniel, "but fortunately I was able to beat Walter away from the line the second time also. After that, it was a case of keeping my head and trying to maintain my pace. I'm still very new to this car and I'm still learning."
The first race had to be abandoned after F3 rookie Wayne Boyd spun at Old Hall Corner. His car was then collected by that of his T-Sport team-mate, Gabriel Dias, which rolled. Neither driver was injured in the crash.
Ricciardo's lead by the end of the opening lap of the restarted race was 1.3s, with Hitech Racing pilot Grubmuller his closest pursuer and the JTR Mygale of Nick Tandy a close third. Grubmuller posted fastest lap of the race in his pursuit, but was unable to reel Ricciardo in. Daniel was 2.6s to the good at the fall of the chequered flag.
Tandy overhauled Max Chilton's Carlin car for the third on the opening lap and held station to the end for the final spot on the podium. Chilton made up for his first round faux pas with fourth, ahead of Daisuke Nakajima and Riki Christodoulou.
Adriano Buzaid lifted T-Sport's spirits with seventh after nicking the place early on from Carlos Huertas. The Colombian would have taken eighth but for a mid-race spin which dropped him to 14th... Carlin team-mates Oliver Oakes and Henry Arundel placed eighth and ninth, with Victor Garcia the final point-scorer in 10th, surviving late-race pressure from Hywel Lloyd. Daniel McKenzie once again enjoyed an untroubled run to National Class victory honours.
Round 2 provisional result, Oulton Park, 13/4/2009
Sunny, dry
1 Daniel RICCIARDO/AUS, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, 23m 57.63s / 107.85mph
2 Walter GRUBMÜLLER/AUT, Hitech Dallara-Mercedes, +2.625s
3 Nick TANDY/GBR, JTR Mygale-Mercedes, +4.454s
4 Max CHILTON/GBR, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, +10.652s
5 Daisuke NAKAJIMA/JPN, RR Dallara-Mercedes, +15.912s
6 Riki CHRISTODOULOU/GBR, Fortec Dallara-Mercedes, +16.721s
7 Adriano BUZAID/BRA, T-Sport Dallara-Volkswagen, +17.623s
8 Oliver OAKES/GBR, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, +21.381s
9 Henry ARUNDEL/GBR, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, +22.173s
10 Victor GARCIA/ESP, Fortec Dallara-Mercedes, +29.372s
11 Hywel LLOYD/GBR, CF Racing Dallara-Mugen Honda, +29.517s
12 NAT Daniel McKENZIE/GBR, Fortec Dallara-Mugen Honda, +37.905s
13 Stéphane RICHELMI/MON, Barazi-Epsilon Dallara-Mercedes, +42.668s
14 Carlos HUERTAS/COL, RR Dallara-Mercedes, +43.578s
15 NAT Max SNEGIREV/RUS, West-Tec Dallara-Mugen Honda, +1m 0.042s
16 NAT Victor CORREA/BRR, Litespeed-Mugen Honda, +1m 04.642s
NOT CLASSIFIED
Jay BRIDGER/GBR, West-Tec Mygale-Mugen Honda, 10 laps
Wayne BOYD/GBR, T-Sport Dallara-Volkswagen, 0 laps
NAT Gabriel DIAS/BRA, T-Sport Dallara-Mugen Honda, 0 laps
FASTEST LAPS
INT Grubmuller 1m 29.177s / 108.67mph
NAT McKenzie 1m 30.976s / 106.52mph
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