BUT STILL SEEKING IMPROVEMENTS
ULTIMATE MOTORSPORT FINISHED IN THE POINTS IN THE FIRST OF TWO BRITISH F3 INTERNATIONAL SERIES RACES AT SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS THIS WEEKEND BUT STRUGGLED TO FIND THE BENEFIT FROM MODIFICATIONS TO THEIR MYGALE-MERCEDES MACHINES.
The team's cars received an upgrade from French manufacturers Mygale ahead of this weekend's race and the new parts were expected to help their quest for an elusive podium finish after showing marked improvements when they were tested at Pembrey last week.
Argentine driver Esteban Guerrieri qualified in 10 th position for race one and made it to fifth place on the first lap. He was then taken by Mustonen, dropping to P6, then took Gonzalez to regain P5 where he sat for most of the race gradually closing in on the pack in front.
On the penultimate lap he was within striking distance but suffered brake failure, which unfortunately resulted in an excursion from the circuit. This enabled several of the cars behind him to get by and he finished the race in eighth place.
Irishman Michael Devaney started the race from eighteenth on the grid and by the end of a stunning first lap he was up to tenth. He then passed Frankie Cheng to take ninth, which he held for five laps until he was passed by a flying Marko Asmer and dropped back to tenth.
Unfortunately, Devaney then suffered brake problems and excessive rear tyre degradation, which hampered his progress by two seconds per lap. That allowed the closing car of Mansell to pass him and he finished the race in 11 th with a best lap of two minutes and 16.34 seconds.
Team manager Jonny Ostrowski said: "It's a shame that we can't qualify well because again both Esteban and Mick had great starts. If we were higher on the grid then we would be taking podiums ever race, and it is only a matter of time before we do.
"With each race the team gains experience and knowledge – and once again the results do not reflect what happened in the race. Sam (Bird) drove a great race and deservedly won. His best time was a 2m15.48s while Esteban, who ran as high as third, managed a 2m15.51s.
"It's unfortunate that he had a brake failure which put him off the track and allowed cars to pass. But the positive thing is that we do have race pace and we will get there!
"Mick also made a great start and was pushing hard but once again he suffered brake problems and struggled with rear end grip. The results, once again, don't tell the story. We look forward to race two, and as we have only had a dry track so far it's bound to be a wet one!
"Mygale have been working hard to deliver us an upgrade so it is a shame that the improvements have not achieved the steps we had expected here this weekend. We continue to push, however, and we are closing the gap so that is encouraging. Now we all need to get together and push a little bit more!"
Guerrieri said: "Starting from 10th on the grid here we knew we needed some luck to get high into the points. I had hoped for one of our usually good starts to push me up into a strong position so I am happy I managed to get to fifth by the end of the first lap! I was pushing hard but couldn't do anything about Atte getting past me.
"In the later stages of the race I was closing on the guys in front really fast. Then, coming into the last chicane, the brake pedal went to the floor. There was nothing I could do, I went over the kerbs and the guys came past me. It was a real shame. But we have tomorrow and we will keep pushing.
Devaney said: "I had a great start and made it to P10 on the first lap. I then passed Frankie for 9 th and it was all going well. But then I started to have the brake problems, the normal knock off, and the rear tyres went away from me earlier than normal so that was a problem. Still, it was not bad from P18!"
The weekend continues with the second race on Saturday morning, with Guerrieri starting from 13 th on the grid and Devaney in 15th. The team are hoping for fewer problems and with continued race pace are confident they can again chase down that elusive podium place.
Team owner Barry Walsh added: "When you consider it is only just five months since we first tested as a team and you look at our race pace, you have to take the positive from that! We have moved forward very quickly, and we will be continuing to push to hit the front."
RACE RESULTS
Guerrieri - R1: 8th, + 18.514
Devaney – R1: 11th, + 26.073
