Nasr wins at the Nurburgring

Championship leader Felipe Nasr sealed another successful Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series weekend with a win – his fifth of the year – in the final Nürburgring race this afternoon.What made it all the more pleasing for the Brazilian was that the win was something of a gift: pole position man Kevin Magnussen had the legs of him throughout, only for an engine misfire to set in and hobble his pace within three laps of the chequered flag. Magnussen, who won on Saturday, watched helplessly as his Carlin team-mate Nasr swept past. The Dane’s post-race fury was clear.Nasr, however, was all smiles after the victory podium: “I don’t know what happened to Kevin, he just slowed suddenly in the middle sector… Sometimes wins just come unexpectedly. We were pretty strong all weekend. This is a bit of pay-back because at Snetterton I was unlucky because I started from pole twice and didn’t get any wins.”With the championship at the half-way stage, Nasr’s points lead has now stretched to 75 points, but he promises there will be no let-up in his campaign: “We have to still be looking for victories and the team and I will just keep pushing.”Another Carlin man, Colombian Carlos Huertas, made a strong start to the race despite being handed a three-place grid penalty following a collision in this morning’s race. Undeterred, Carlos blasted through to third on the opening lap and was promoted to second by Magnussen’s dramas.However, an opportunistic and contact-free last-lap pass by Hitech’s Portuguese signing Antonio Felix da Costa denied Huertas second. “He made an aggressive move on me,” said an unhappy Huertas. “It was the last lap of the race and I wanted to avoid contact, particularly after being penalised before the start.” Ironically, da Costa was another to be handed a grid penalty: he was also moved back three slots after his race-two clash with Will Buller.Magnussen coaxed his car home fifth, just behind the Fortec machine of Lucas Foresti, which was the leading Mercedes-powered finisher.Rupert Svendsen-Cook placed sixth for Carlin, ahead of Fortec’s Buller, Hitech man Pietro Fantin, Harry Tincknell for Fortec and Pedro Nunes in another Hitech car. There were several scrapes and incidents up and down the field, the most dramatic of which was a major excursion into the gravel at Ford curve for T-Sport’s Menasheh Idafar. Retrieval of his car necessitated a two-lap safety car period.Bart Hylkema led Kotaro Sakurai throughout to claim yet another Rookie class victory for T-Sport. If the result was ever in doubt, it was settled by a late-race drive-through penalty for the Japanese for not respecting track limits. Dutch driver Hylkema’s efforts were further rewarded by the presentation of the Sunoco Driver of the Weekend award.British Formula 3 enjoys the headlining support of Cooper Tires and is additionally backed by Sunoco Racing Fuels, Anglo American Oil Company and OAMPS.Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International SeriesRound 15, Nürburgring 3/7/201120 laps / 63.98 milesProvisional results Championship class1  Felipe NASR / BRA,  Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen  40m 45.907s2  Antonio Felix da COSTA / POR,  Hitech Dallara-Volkswagen  +6.964s3  Carlos HUERTAS / COL,  Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen  +7.576s4  Lucas FORESTI / BRA,  Fortec Dallara-Mercedes  +9.974s5  Kevin MAGNUSSEN / DEN,  Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen  +16.152s6  Rupert SVENDSEN-COOK / GBR,  Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen  +16.779s7  William BULLER /GBR,  Fortec Dallara-Mercedes  +17.867s8  Pietro FANTIN / BRA,  Hitech Dallara-Volkswagen  +18.772s9  Harry TINCKNELL / GBR,  Fortec Dallara-Mercedes  +20.939s10  Pedro NUNES / BRA,  Hitech Dallara-Volkswagen  +21.387s etc Rookie class1  Bart HYLKEMA / NED,  T-Sport Dallara-Mugen Honda  +37.684s2  Kotaro SAKURAI / JPN,  Hitech Dallara-Mugen Honda  +1m 09.544sFastest lap Magnussen 1m 55.818s / 93.54mph

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