The fifth round of the 2010 Cooper Tires British F3 International Series at Rockingham this weekend produced some epic battles, with James Cole in the thick of his fight to retain the National Class championship lead. A well deserved victory in the final race after two second place finishes kept the Merseysider at the head of the tables, leading title rival, Menasheh Idafar, by five points as the Series reaches halfway point of the season. A blistering pace throughout the weekend also saw Cole finish seventh overall in the final race, proving his ability to mix it with the faster International Class cars.
The first of the weekend’s three races saw Cole racing his T-Sport Dallara Mercedes to a second place finish, duelling hard with team mate Idafar for the National Class honours. Cole said of his first Rockingham run this season, “It’s a unique circuit with two distinct sections - the twisty infield section and the high speed oval part, so setting the car up is always going to be a compromise. It was another learning curve for me, working with my engineers to balance the aerodynamic demands of these two parts of the track. We did a lot of work in the pre-weekend test, so I was feeling comfortable with the car by the time of this first race.”
The second race of the weekend featured a new dimension for British F3 racing with the introduction of a mandatory pit stop during the 20 minutes sprint distance. The ever cool Cole was unfazed by this, practicing earlier in the weekend and working with his crew to ensure the team worked together efficiently and quickly. Another second place finish was the result of the efforts by Cole and his crew, although the race was shaped by a first lap incident with protagonist Idafar. Cole and his team mate made contact in their fight for position, and the resultant war wounds forced both drivers into the pits for repairs. Despite this, the battle between these two hard-charging drivers raged until the end of the race. Cole explains, “Perhaps it was inevitable that we were going to clash at some point this season in the opening lap, as it’s such a tight battle every time we race. We’re very evenly matched and having to use all our skills to keep each other honest.”
The final race, a 40 minutes Feature race, was another classic F3 incident-filled event with a multi-car accident producing first lap drama for the front runners. Cole picked his way through the littered cars, running under the safety car until the track was cleared. He led Idafar from the green flag to the finish, posting fastest class lap en route to his eighth victory of the season. His delight in winning the race was heightened by his achieving a seventh place overall, his best finish position so far.
Cole says of his victory, “It was great to be running so closely with the International Class cars and showing that I have the pace to mix with them, despite being in a slower car. I kept Idafar behind me and with this eighth win have kept the upper hand which is really important to me. There are only a few points in it, so there’s no room for complacency and I’ll have to work as hard each and every race if I’m to win this title, but that’s always the goal.”
Cole will continue his assault on the British F3 National Class championship at Spa in two weeks time.
