Cameron Twynham enjoyed an impressive European F3 Open weekend at the Nrburgring (1/2 June) where a pair of third-place finishes boosted his total to eight podiums from his first 10 Formula 3 races - and five in succession.
The 17-year-old, who drives a Team West-Tec-prepared Dallara F308 in the series Copa Class, travelled to the grand prix venue following an encouraging British F3 outing at Silverstone which saw Twynham rack up a hat-trick of rostrums.
A lack of experience on the legendary German track didnt prevent the Market Harborough racer from producing a solid start to the weekend as he secured third on the grid in Saturday mornings qualifying session. Setup adjustments gave him a better-handling car come the race and, though he would slip back to P4 on the opening lap, he wasted little time in reclaiming third next time around.
From there Twynham would close on P2 but, with understeer issues forcing caution, settled for a satisfying third at the finish.
Further overnight setup work gave the West-Tec driver yet more confidence heading into second qualifying, though he was left somewhat frustrated when the chequered flag flew a moment too early for him to run a final quick lap. Despite this, he was still able to repeat Saturdays result and secure third on the grid.
When the lights went out Twynham delivered a strong start, though an attempted move for second around the outside of turn one would see him slip back to fourth.
But the youngster was again able to make his pace count, re-taking third a few laps later. The race was then neutralised by the safety car, following which Twynham worked hard to snatch second spot. Despite an issue with sixth gear curtailing his top-speed, he launched a number of overtaking attempts on his way to third, bagging further points that see him leave Germany second in the Copa Class standings.
"That's the best weekend we've had so far," enthused Twynham. "First qualifying was tricky as we didn't have the setup quite right, but I was really pleased with the team's hard work and felt we got everything we could from the car come the race.
"I was a lot more comfortable in second qualifying and ultimately I think we could have achieved more than P3. In the race I went for a move at the outside of turn one but that always leaves you vulnerable to those behind, and unfortunately I slipped to fourth. I was able to re-take third and then, following the safety car, kept on the tail of the second-place runner. I made a few attempts for the position but my tyres had gone off and I was hitting the limiter in sixth gear, so I was pleased to take another third place.
"Overall I'm thrilled with how the weekend went and its great to have moved up to second in the championship. Next time out at Jerez I'll be targeting more podiums, though the aim there will be to put myself on the top two steps."
Twynham will be in action at the Spanish circuit for round four of the F3 Open campaign over the weekend of June 15/16.
