Carlin’s French ace Jean-Eric Vergne put the disappointments of last weekend’s French rounds of the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series behind him today at Hockenheim, dominating round 10 of the championship to retake the points lead.
Vergne led every inch of the race, from pole position to chequered flag, leading home his team-mate Jazeman Jaafar for a Carlin 1-2. Said Vergne of his German triumph: “It was a very easy, clear race from the start to the end. I had a really good car; I want to really thank the team because it was amazing.”
It took organisers three attempts to get the race underway, Hitech’s Gabriel Dias causing the first restart when he stalled from P2 on the grid, his car then expiring as it made its way on to the second formation; the Brazilian was then forced to start from pit lane.
Vergne’s start was cautious but capable and he led into the Nordkurve from team-mates Adriano Buzaid and Jaafar, with Will Buller upholding Hitech honours in fourth ahead of Raikkonen Robertson’s Daisuke Nakajima. Fortec’s Daniel McKenzie started seventh and quickly promoted himself to sixth at the expense of James Calado.
Alas for McKenzie’s team-mate, erstwhile championship leader Oli Webb, the opening laps were far less straightforward. After snatching third from Jaafar into the hairpin the Mancunian ran wide a corner later – “It just snapped away from me,” he said – and he plummeted down the order. Two laps later he ran off track again and lost further ground.
The main dramas of the race centred on drive-through penalties handed down by race officials for corner-cutting. Three strikes and you’re in was the rule, and the first to fall foul was Buzaid, the Brazilian losing a safe second place as a result. That left Vergne some 13 seconds clear of his closest pursuer, Jaafar, and placed the race in his pocket. Like Vergne, Jaafar kept his nose clean to claim second – his first podium finish in British F3.
Buller might have collected another excellent podium but for a penalty pit call which promoted McKenzie to the third step of the podium. Daniel had already profited from a drive-through for Nakajima. The Poole-based driver was delighted with his first International class British F3 podium finish: “Several drivers in front of me were penalised, which helped, but I kept pushing from the start. I had a little touch with Nakajima on the opening lap, and James got past me, but I was able to repass.”
Calado claimed fourth, ahead of Buzaid, who recovered well from his penalty, Jay Bridger’s Litespeed Dallara, and Dias, who enjoyed a penalty-free run from his pit lane start. Webb recovered from his early mishaps to place eighth. Ironically it was ball 8 that Vergne picked from the hat post-race, thus handing his chief title rival the pole for this afternoon’s sprint race.
The National class duo enjoyed a spirited scarp throughout the race, James Cole leading Menasheh Idafar until the 13th lap, when Idafar launched an attack at the hairpin. Menasheh’s tenure of the lead lasted only a couple of corners, however, before he ran wide and handed top spot, and an excellent ninth overall, back to his T-Sport team-mate.
Pit-stoppers Buller and Carlos Huertas finished 10th and 11th to claim the final International class points.
Cooper Tires British F3 International Series - Round 10 Hockenheim 29/5/2010 16 laps = 45.47 miles
Provisional results
Overall
1 Jean-Eric VERGNE / FRA, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 25m 28.768s / 107.08mph
2 Jazeman JAAFAR / MAS, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen +19.192s
3 Daniel McKENZIE / GBR, Fortec Dallara-Mercedes +21.292s
4 James CALADO / GBR, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen +22.092s
5 Adriano BUZAID / BRA, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen +29.286s
6 Jay BRIDGER / GBR, Litespeed Dallara-Mercedes +30.552s
7 Gabriel DIAS / BRA, Hitech Dallara-Volkswagen +31.061s
8 Oli WEBB / GBR, Fortec Dallara-Mercedes +38.149s
9 James COLE / GBR, T-Sport Dallara-Mugen Honda +39.658s
10 William BULLER / GBR, Hitech Dallara-Volkswagen +41.433s
11 Carlos HUERTAS / COL, RR Dallara-Mercedes +44.198s etc
12 Rupert SVENDSEN-COOK / GBR, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen +49.621s
13 Lucas FORESTI / BRA, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen +50.204s
14 Adderly FONG / CHN, Sino Vision Dallara-Mercedes +51.397s
15 Alex BRUNDLE / GBR, T-Sport Dallara-Volkswagen +52.613s
16 Daisuke NAKAJIMA / JPN, RR Dallara-Mercedes +1m 03.725s
17 Wayne BOYD / GBR, Sino Vision Dallara-Mercedes +1m 06.755s
18 Menasheh IDAFAR / GBR, T-Sport Dallara-Mugen Honda +1m 10.840s
19 Max SNEGIREV / RUS, Fortec Dallara-Mercedes +1m 14.528s
20 Hywel LLOYD / GBR, CF/Manor Dallara-Mercedes +1m 39.012s
R Felipe NASR / BRA, RR Dallara-Mercedes 8 laps
Fastest lap: Vergne 1m 34.568s / 108.19mph Record
National Class
1 Cole
2 Idafar
