Marcus Ericsson led home a double podium and a Räikkönen Robertson second, third and fourth today, in a fantastic opening race for the Räikkönen Robertson team at the Rockingham Speedway in Northamptonshire.
Taking part in the fifth round of the 2009 Cooper Tires British F3 Series, Ericsson took second place on the first lap and looked unchallenged to the chequered flag. Team mate Daisuke Nakajima made it a double podium for the team with his first podium finish in British F3, while F3 rookie Carlos Huertas completed a stunning outing for the team in a highly competitive fourth place.
As the lights went out, all three Räikkönen Robertson drivers made a strong start, and benefited from a first lap collision when first and second placed men Daniel Ricciardo and Renger Van der Zande took themselves out at turn one. With Ericsson moving up to second place and Nakajima third, Huertas lay fifth at the end of the second lap. 17 year-old Huertas continued to make progress, moving up to fourth place on lap three to slot in behind his team mate. Huertas kept Nakajima under pressure for the remainder of the race and crossed the line fourth to complete a Räikkönen Robertson two – three- four.
Second placed man, Marcus Ericsson said, “I had a fantastic start and I was fighting for the lead into the first corner. There was an accident into the first corner which I had to avoid and Nick [Tandy] was able to get in front of me. Even if I had been in front of him I think we would have been struggling to keep him behind because his pace was so strong. But still the Räikkönen Robertson team have done a fantastic job and my car was very good. It was a good race and among the other Dallaras runners I don’t think there is anyone who is quicker than us. We have to work hard for the next race and hope to win from pole.”
Speaking about his first podium in British F3, Nakajima said, “I’m very happy to have taken my first podium in Britain, and it’s a great race result for the championship as well – Nick winning makes it an amazing day I think. I made a great start and overtook about three cars and was able to hold onto third. Although I’m pleased with the result I was a bit disappointed with my race pace as I had to try really hard to keep Carlos behind me. I think we have a lot of work to do before the next race to improve the car.”
Team Principal Anthony Hieatt was delighted with the team’s performance, “The team have done a fantastic job today, and I’m so pleased for all the drivers who each drove a great race. Marcus has adapted very well to our car and did a great job in the race to take second place. Hopefully he can go one better this afternoon starting from pole. Daisuke and Carlos were also very strong and evenly matched and I think we’ve proved we’ve got an extremely competitive car around here. Huge congratulations to the JTR team on a fantastic victory though, we couldn’t have finished second to a more deserving team.”
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