Racecar client Double R Racing celebrated yet more MSA Formula podium success during the third event of the championship season at ultra-fast Thruxton in Hampshire over the weekend, 9th/10th May, with Brazil’s Matheus Leist making his fourth visit of the year to the rostrum.
After finishing an excellent second in round seven on Saturday afternoon, the 17-year-old went on to take fifth and fourth place finishes in Sunday’s pair of contests to conclude the event fourth in the driver standings, just 10 points shy of the top three. Perhaps most notably, prior to this weekend’s visit to Thruxton the South American teenager had never even seen the track.
Indian team-mate Tarun Reddy also delivered some tremendous performances and from lower than expected grid positions, taking eighth place in round eight on Sunday morning before bettering that with sixth position in the live televised ninth round later in the day. Double R’s third driver Gustavo Myasava, meanwhile, wasn’t in action at Thruxton due to educational commitments in Brazil.
“It’s great to have been on the podium again with Matheus, especially as he hadn’t even seen the place before the weekend – an incredible job”, said Double R team principal Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt, “It’s a little bit frustrating as we definitely had the pace to win again, but we’ve picked up good points for the championship which is the main thing.
“Tarun was very unfortunate in race one with a retirement and had to work really hard on Sunday to salvage as much as he could. He raced very well to eighth and sixth, doing a lot of overtaking along the way. We’re sure his first podium is just around the corner.”
Donington Park race winner Leist continued his great early season form in qualifying on Saturday morning with the third fastest time, missing out on a front row start for round seven by the smallest of margins – a mere 0.001 seconds.
At the start of the opening race, the Brazilian made a fantastic getaway from row two to surge into the lead on the run into Allard and he maintained his advantage into the complex. There though, behind the lead group, a multi-car tangle occurred in which team-mate Reddy sustained a broken front wing and damage to the underside of the car.
The incident resulted in the deployment of the Safety Car and although Reddy, who had started the race eighth on the grid, did make it back to the pits for a new front wing, the rest of the damage was too substantial to enable him to rejoin the encounter.
At the re-start, on lap six, Leist led away well but into the chicane at the end of the seventh tour he was edged back to second. While pulling away from the pack, Leist wasn’t able to re-challenge for the lead during the remainder of the race and ultimately took the flag just 1.5 seconds adrift.
For round eight on Sunday morning, Leist lined-up sixth on the grid and after pressuring for fifth he grabbed the place on lap two before then moving into fourth on the third tour. With just one second covering the lead quartet, Leist challenged hard to break into the podium placings and after a big shake-up at the front he sliced through to second place on lap five.
Although edged down to third again on lap seven, the South American moved back into second place a lap later following a spin for Daniel Baybutt and began to pressurise race leader Rafael Martins very hard indeed. As the lead group closed-up once more, though, Leist was ultimately shuffled back to fifth place – taking the flag on lap 16 only 0.171 seconds shy of the podium.
Team-mate Reddy made fantastic progress to record a very well deserved eighth place finish, having carved his way through the order from 17th on the grid following Saturday’s non-finish. Breaking into the top 15 by lap three, the rapid Indian racer was into 12th position by mid-distance and got ahead of two cars on lap 10 to move into the coveted top 10.
Continuing his excellent rise through the pack, Reddy grabbed ninth position a lap later and after swarming all over the back of Darius Karbaley the Double R racer completed his superb performance by taking eighth place three laps from the finish.
Round nine delivered yet more great racing throughout the order, with Leist just missing out on the podium and Reddy matching his previous season-best of sixth with a very impressive drive through from 13th on the grid.
Starting fifth, Leist had a fantastic see-saw battle over the podium and managed to break into the top three at the end of lap 12. After running slightly wide at Goodwood the next time around, he slipped back to fourth but quickly hit back to re-take third on the run up Woodham Hill. Edged back to fourth with just over two laps to run, Leist took the flag just 0.7 seconds shy of the podium.
Reddy also starred again with a terrific performance, gradually working his way through the order with some impressive driving. From 13th on the grid at the start, by lap three he was already into the top eight and piling on pressure to James Pull for seventh.
All over the rear wing of his rival’s car for several laps, on the penultimate tour contact between Pull and Sennan Fielding gave Reddy the opportunity to attack. After claiming seventh through Pull’s enforced retirement at the complex, he then moved into the top six to cap a superb drive.
Oulton Park Island Circuit in Cheshire is the next venue on the MSA Formula calendar with rounds 10, 11 and 12 of the season taking place over the weekend 6th/7th June. Next weekend, 16th/17th May, Double R Racing’s FIA Formula 3 European Championship squad will be back in action for the third event of its season at the Pau street circuit in France.
2015 MSA Formula Championship Driver Standings (after Rd9): 4th Matheus Leist, 105pts; 13th Tarun Reddy, 22pts; 14th Gustavo Myasava, 19pts
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