Double R Racing driver Dan Clarke has been given the all clear by his doctor  to  race  in  this  weekend’s  round  of  the  British  F3  Championship  at  Silverstone  (12-14 August).  

Problems  arose  for  the  driver  late  last  week  while on a surfing trip to Newquay with team-mate Bruno  Senna.   

Clarke  aggravated  an  old  injury  getting  up  on  his  board  and  his  knee  has  been causing  him  considerable  discomfort  ever  since.  Having  driven  through  the  pain  barrier  at  a Silverstone test on Tuesday (9th August), Clarke spent two or three sessions working on the knee with physiotherapist Simon Jones, who has previously worked with the likes of Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher. Having  successfully  come  through  the  test  Dan  is  confident  he  can  drive  competitively  at  the weekend, even if it means putting up with the pain.

Clarke commented: “At the weekend I genuinely thought my chances of making the start grid at Silverstone  were  less  than  50/50.  I  couldn’t  believe  it  when  my  knee  started  playing  up  –  but testing felt ok and I’m having regular physio. The only thing that would stop me from racing is if I wasn’t competitive. I am, I’ve been given the thumbs up from the doc, so let’s get on with it.” Clarke will be keen to get back to winning ways at Silverstone after claiming his first F3 victory at Castle Combe earlier in the year.

Clarke commented: “This is my first year in F3 - at the start of the season I set myself a target of beating Jenson Button’s achievement of three race wins in his first F3 season. It’s good to set yourself targets, and who better to emulate than a current F1 driver.”

Clarke’s fitness is a major boost for the team ahead of this weekend’s triple race weekend (one additional race is planned following the postponed round at Spa), but there was disappointment for Clarke’s sponsors Highland Spring, who had arranged for a Scottish piper to pipe Dan onto the grid before the start of each race. Championship organisers SRO turned down the request, much to the bewilderment of Clarke and Highland Spring. Clarke, who previously incurred the wrath of organisers SRO by wearing two caps on the podium, said:  “Highland  Spring  just  wanted  to  add  a  bit  of  fun  to  the  proceedings.  I  thought  yeah  -  it’s something different  – why not. It’ll add to the atmosphere, and may even be entertaining for the fans.

It’s a shame - this sport is taken too seriously at times. The irony is we only asked out of courtesy. Next time we should just go ahead and do it.”