After seven rounds and 21 races, the 2016 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship title will be decided this weekend (10/11 September), with four drivers set to battle it out for the crown over what is set to be three dramatic encounters at the 'Donington Decider.'
Heading to Leicestershire, the man currently in pole position to take the BRDC British F3 partnered by Duo title is Carlin’s Ricky Collard. The Hampshire-based racer has been in scintillating form in 2016, and extended his advantage over his rivals to 15 points with a double victory last time out at Snetterton.
His closest challenger is Brazilian Matheus Leist, who has three wins to his name so far this year. The Double R Racing man has been a model of consistency in the second half of the season and has closed the gap from 48 points at the mid-season point to its current deficit. He has scored four runner-up finishes in the last six races but will be looking to add to his victory tally if he is to claim the 2016 BRDC British F3 crown.
Australian Thomas Randle sits in third at present, 51 points behind Collard and the Melbourne-born youngster will need a near perfect weekend if he is to emerge on Sunday as champion. However, with wins at Rockingham and Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, Randle certainly has the pace to challenge his rivals ahead and could yet finish his maiden season in European racing by taking the UK’s premier single-seater title.
The fourth actor in the title drama is Lanan Racing’s Toby Sowery. The 2015 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award finalist has plenty of ground to make up, being 62 points behind Collard with just 95 up for grabs for each driver, and will be looking to recapture his early season form, where he led the overall standings leaving Brands Hatch, if he is to stake a claim for the 2016 title.
Amidst the title drama, there will be a new name on the grid at Donington Park as Carlin welcome its British F4 driver James Pull into its BRDC British F3 team for the weekend, with the 16-year-old making his debut in the category. He, along with every other driver in the field, will be looking to end the British F3 season on a high and they will have three races in which to impress.
Qualifying gets underway on Saturday at 10:50 with race one following at 15:20. Sunday’s action begins with the partially-reversed grid race two at 10:50, before the lights go out at 16:20 to begin the final race of the 2016 season. All the title drama from the final encounter of the year will be available to watch live on Motors TV in the UK, with live timing and official updates throughout the weekend on the official website, before the one-hour highlights programme is screened on ITV4 one week following the meeting.
2016 BRDC British Formula 3 Standings after race 21 of 24
1. Ricky Collard, Carlin, 438 points2. Matheus Leist, Double R Racing, 423 points3. Thomas Randle, Douglas Motorsport, 387 points4. Toby Sowery, Lanan Racing, 376 points5. Enaam Ahmed, Douglas Motorsport, 288 points6. Lando Norris, Carlin, 247 points7. Tarun Reddy, Fortec Motorsports, 246 points8. Aleksanteri Huovinen, Double R Racing, 223 points9. Enzo Bortoleto, Double R Racing, 220 points10. Thomas Maxwell, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, 214 points
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