AT HOME CIRCUIT - Donington date for Top Brit Christodoulou
After winning last time out in the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series, Riki Christodoulou heads for his home circuit of Donington Park next Sunday (19 Jul) hoping to add to his victory tally and to underline his status as the championship's leading British driver.
Sutton Coldfield-based Riki swept to his maiden F3 win, and the first of the season for the Fortec Motorsport team, at Snetterton last week, and 'Christo' is still coming down from the high. "I'm still buzzing," said Riki, who celebrates his 21st birthday next week. "Snetterton was a massive confidence boost. We knew that my first win wouldn't take that long, but it was hard work to get there, and to finally achieve it was fantastic. The buzz it gave me was tremendous; it was everything that I had ever visualized, and I want many more like that."
Christodoulou says he feels no added pressure now that he's the top Brit: "There's no pressure at all, in fact it's quite cool. But what I want to be is the leading driver overall, not just the leading British driver. That's my goal."
Riki believes that a good grid position for his Mercedes-powered Dallara will be vital at Donington, a circuit he likes and at which he has scored several podium finishes in recent seasons. "Qualifying is definitely crucial because overtaking will be very hard. In the race, it may be possible to slipstream down the straight and pass someone into the chicane, but that will be relatively easy to block. A good grid position will be all-important, and that's another thing for me to work on at the weekend."
However, before Christo can return to the top step of the podium he will need to overcome several speedy rivals, not least championship leader Daniel Ricciardo, who returned to form last time out to claim a brace of second-place finishes for the Carlin Motorsport team. The Australian enjoys a 23-point series lead over his closest rival, Hitech's Austrian pilot Walter Grubmüller.
Grubmüller's team-mate, Dutchman Renger van der Zande, has started three of the last four races from the pole and is another emerging threat to Ricciardo's title hopes, despite having missed the start of the season.
Raikkonen Robertson Racing has entered a third car for Donington to run alongside regular pilots Daisuke Nakajima and Carlos Huertas. It's for 19-year-old Kiwi Dominic Storey, who endured a difficult F3 baptism yesterday (Thurs) when he crashed in testing at Donington. Storey was the Formula BMW Asia Scholarship winner in 2006 and is currently contesting the Formula Renault Eurocup.
Ricciardo's Carlin team-mate Henry Arundel made his second podium visit of the season at Snetterton and, along with his Volkswagen-propelled running mates Max Chilton and Philip Major, will be seeking a return trip at Donington.
Fifth and sixth in Snetterton's 10th championship round was the most convincing performance yet from the T-Sport team, a result on which drivers Adriano Buzaid and Wayne Boyd will be looking to build.
Others to watch out for in the International class are Spanish Fortec pilot Victor Garcia; Jay Bridger, whose Litespeed-prepared and Mugen Honda-powered Mygale was well on the pace last time; and Hywel Lloyd, the plucky Welsh driver in the family-run CF Racing car.
The National Class has become a five-way shoot-out, but the top gunslingers remain Fortec's Daniel McKenzie and T-Sport's Gabriel Dias. McKenzie has won the class six times, Dias on three occasions, and young Dan enjoys a very healthy points lead of 49, which should enable him to throw a little caution to the wind - as he did at Snetterton, where he finished the first race eighth overall to score the highest finish for a National Class runner so far this season.
Victor Correa drove off with the National Class silverware at Hockenheim, and the Litespeed pilot has recently gained a team-mate in the shape of McLaren Autosport BRDC Award finalist Aaron Steele, which should aid his cause. Young Russian Max Snegirev is the other National Class contender, driving for Team West-Tec.
British F3 is sponsored by US tyre manufacturer Cooper Tire and is further supported by motorsport insurance specialist AON, by Sunoco Racing Fuels and by Anglo American Oil Company.
Cooper Tires British F3 - provisional standingsInternational Class1 Daniel Ricciardo 1192 Walter Grubmüller 963 Renger van der Zande 854 Riki Christodoulou 815 Nick Tandy 686 Marcus Ericsson 657 Max Chilton 648 Daisuke Nakajima 599 Adriano Buzaid 5610 Henry Arundel 46 etc
National Class1 Daniel McKenzie 1722 Gabriel Dias 1233 Victor Correa 1004 Max Snegirev 805 Aaron Steele 22
The Mirror.co.uk British F3 Challenge Cup1 Riki Christodoulou 662 Max Chilton 65=3 Nick Tandy & Henry Arundel 56 etc
