Irish rising star Adam Carroll (Northampton/Portadown) secured a superb 4th place in Round Three of the 2004 Avon Tyres British Formula 3 Championship at Silverstone yesterday afternoon – from 9th on the grid!
But the P1 Motorsport star was denied the opportunity to step up once again onto the winners’ rostrum when the second F3 race of the day was cancelled due to heavy rain.
Carroll’s team mate, Ernesto Viso (Cambridge / Caracas, Venezuela) secured seventh place to round out a points-scoring weekend for the Wymondham-based P1 Motorsport team.
Said Carroll:
“We didn’t have the best qualifying sessions this weekend, so to grab fourth in the first race was good news. It’s a shame we couldn’t run again today, but the track conditions were just too dangerous.”
Roly Vincini, P1 Motorsport Team Manager added:
“Adam made a great start in the first race and that’s the sort of driver he is – he makes opportunities. As the race went on, tyre degradation came into play and he couldn’t hang onto 3rd, but it’s still a good result.”
QUALIFYING
Rd 3: Adam Carroll – 9th, Ernesto Viso – 7th
Having been third (Carroll) and sixth (Viso) quickest in official testing on Friday, the P1 Motorsport team was looking forward to qualifying around the 2.25-mile Silverstone International Circuit. However for Round One winner Carroll and South American young gun Viso, both sessions were ultimately frustrating. A tactical team decision on tyre usage saw both drivers bolt on two new tyres half way through the first session, but this theoretical advantage was not to materialise. On Carroll’s fastest lap, a lap good enough for pole position, the Northern Irishman encountered gravel on track from an earlier incident, and his lap was ruined. And Viso was also a victim of debris on the track, being forced to pit for remedial work part way through the session. With the track getting hotter and hotter as the session progressed, there was simply no more time to come for either driver. Carroll therefore ended the session in 9th place overall, with Viso just ahead of his team mate in 7th.
Rd 4: Adam Carroll – 6th, Ernesto Viso – 12th
The second session started better for both Carroll and Viso, the duo battling at the very head the time sheet for the first ten minutes. However the team’s tyre strategy from the first session meant that neither driver had the advantage of a full set of new rubber in the second session. Consequently, as their rivals brought their times down, so neither Carroll nor Viso was able to respond. Nevertheless, a sterling effort by both drivers saw Carroll finish the session in sixth place overall, just 3/10th of a second off pole, with Viso in 12th.
ROUND THREE
Adam Carroll – 4th, Ernesto Viso – 7th
The rain that had threatened all day Saturday finally reached Silverstone on Sunday morning and it was a wet track that greeted the F3 grid for their first race of the day.
Carroll made a fantastic start from 9th place on the grid, taking 5th on the run to the first corner and then putting a fantastic move on Nelson Piquet Jnr round the outside of the ultra fast Bridge Corner. With Danilo Dirani spinning out a corner later, Carroll ended the first tour in a superb 3rd position overall. Within a couple of laps, the top three had broken away with Carroll chasing down Australian Will Power for second. For the first half of the race, Carroll was running strongly and looked set for a certain podium finish, however as the race progressed, so his tyres began to go off and he dropped away from the leading duo into the clutches of Piquet Jnr. On lap 12, with Piquet Jnr less than half a second adrift, the young Northern Irishman ran wide at the Abbey Hairpin and Piquet Jnr was through. For the remaining six laps, it was a case of consolidation and a very relieved Carroll took the chequered flag in fourth place.
Viso had a similarly tough 18-lap F3 encounter. Having dropped a position to Carroll on the opening lap, he fought back up to 7th at the expense of Fairuz Fauzy by the end of lap two and was then embroiled in mighty battle with Australian Will Davison. A terrific move down the inside into Copse at the start of lap four promoted Viso up to 6th and he immediately set about Danny Watts in the Lola-Dome. But Viso soon had his mirrors full of Clivio Piccione and, on lap eight, Piccione challenged successfully into Bridge Corner, pushing him back down to 7th. With nothing between Watts, Piccione and Viso for 5th, 6th and 7th respectively, there was all to play for. However, like his team mate Carroll, Viso soon began to suffer with tyre wear as the circuit dried out – and he had to drive a very committed final few laps to keep the chasing pack at bay. After 18 hard-fought laps, Viso therefore took the flag in a well -deserved 7th place overall.
ROUND FOUR
Cancelled due to heavy rain
Rounds Five and Six of the 2004 Avon Tyres British Formula 3 Championship take place at Croft Circuit, North Yorks, on 1st & 2nd May.
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