Nicolas Prost and Miguel Molina finished Saturday’s race at the circuit of Estoril in second and third position respectively. Sergio Jimenez, confident leader of the race, lost his first position due to technical problems with only a few laps to go.
Everything started well this morning for Racing Engineering’s F3 squad at the Portuguese circuit of Estoril. Sergio Jimenez was the fastest and secured his first pole position of the season confirming his high pace in adapting to the car. Sergio was leading the field throughout the majority of the race distance, when an electrical problem on his car forced him to slow down and watch his competitors pass.
In the end Sergio was hit by another car and didn’t finish the race. Nicolas Prost and Miguel Molina on the other hand had a great race. Miguel was able to repeat his excellent performance from Jarama and finished once more on the podium. Although the young Catalan driver could have finished in second position, he came in third. Fighting for the lead with Maximo Cortes and notably having the faster car, Miguel committed a minor mistake. Nicolas Prost immediately took this opportunity and passed his teammate to finish once more on the podium scoring important points.
Marcos Martinez wasn’t as lucky as his teammates at the start of the race and saw himself being involved in an incident that put him at the end of the field. After this unlucky start Marcos was able to continue and finished the race in 14th position.
After the race Alfonso de Orleáns-Borbón commented: This was a real pity. We had the victory in our hands, but a technical problem outside our sphere of influence forced Sergio to let others pass. On the other hand, I am very happy with Nicolas’ and Miguel’s performance. After a tough race and battling for positions, both managed to once more finish on the podium. Like always, each member of our team has done a fantastic job.”
Miguel Molina stated: “The race was pretty good. I felt really comfortable with the car, but Maximo was slowing me down during the last laps and I think it isn’t normal what he was doing. This was the reason why I committed and error and lost my second position to Nicolas. Nevertheless I am very happy with the points I made.”
A very disappointed Sergio Jimenez said: “Everything went pretty well given the fact that I didn’t have a good start. But then I suffered from a problem with the battery. This didn’t allow me to defend my position and in the end I was pushed off track.”
