Consistent Rockingham MSA Formula weekend keeps Leist and Double R in top six

Brazilian racer Matheus Leist maintained his top six championship placing during the latest three rounds of the MSA Formula season at Rockingham in Northamptonshire over the weekend, 5th/6th September, with the Double R Racing driver only just missing out on a sixth podium of the season.

 Securing a best result of fourth in race two, round 23, Leist began the event with fifth in round 22 and then wrapped-up the eighth race meeting of the campaign with a sixth place finish in the live televised third race, round 24.

 Team-mate Tarun Reddy didn’t have anything like as straightforward an outing as Leist, the Indian racer encountering problems relating to the turbo on his Ford EcoBoost engine in the second race and then dramatically exiting the final contest on the last lap, after a superb drive through the order, when the rear of his car caught fire. His sole points score came in race one on Saturday with 10th.

“Rockingham was a better weekend overall for the team than Knockhill, but we’re gutted for Tarun with all of the problems he had in races two and three”, said Double R team principal Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt, “He showed his true pace in race three, there was only a tenth in it between the times he and Matheus were doing, and his drive through from the back was very impressive.

“Matheus had a very consistent weekend, which he needed for the championship, and the pace was definitely there for a podium. We need to score some bigger points at Silverstone and Brands Hatch, that’s the target for the last two events.”

In a wet but drying qualifying session on Saturday morning, Leist lapped within just 0.5 seconds of pole position to secure the fifth fastest time while Reddy had a less fruitful session when problems led to an uncharacteristic 18th on the grid for round 22.

 Hitting back well, Reddy sliced his way through the order into the top 12 before the Safety Car was deployed on the second tour and, although edged back to 13th at one point, he eventually finished in 11th – before a penalty for Daniel Baybutt elevated the Indian into the top 10. Leist, meanwhile, ran very strongly in fifth position throughout and finished just 0.8 seconds shy of the podium.

 Starting round 23 on Sunday morning from fifth, Leist made a good getaway and climbed into fourth place at Deene. Pulling well clear of Daniel Ticktum, Leist remained close behind Sandy Mitchell in the scrap for third but had to settle for fourth at the flag on lap 14.

 Reddy, lining-up on the fifth row, lost several places on the run into Deene and it soon became clear there was a power problem with his Ford-engined Mygale. After a couple of pit visits, the Double R mechanics managed to resolve the issue but Reddy ended the race unclassified four laps down.

 In round 24, Leist moved up from eighth to seventh at Deene on lap one and after an early Safety Car period he then climbed into the top six at mid-distance. Running nose-to-tail with the group ahead, at the finish the Brazilian missed out on fifth place by a mere 0.2 seconds.

 Having endured a very trying second contest, Reddy more than deserved an opportunity to shine in race three and he grasped the chance with both hands. Delivering a fantastic performance to scythe his way through from 19th on the grid into ninth position, making up six places on lap one alone, the Indian’s hopes – quite literally – went up in smoke with the dramatic engine fire on the final lap.

Promising Portimao debut for Solomon in FIA Formula 3 As well as this weekend’s MSA Formula action at Rockingham, Double R’s FIA Formula 3 European Championship team was also in action in southern Portugal for rounds 28, 29 and 30 of the season in Portimao – the category’s first ever visit to the Algarve.

 Running a single Dallara-Mercedes for Matt Solomon, with team-mate Nicolas Pohler still on the sidelines after breaking his arm in training several weeks ago, the Hong Kong driver managed to chalk-up three more race finishes with a best of 21st place in race two.

 Starting round 28 on Saturday morning from 26th position on the grid, Solomon put together an excellent first lap to gain four places but was then elbowed back to 24th on lap two. Hitting back straight away, he became involved in some entertaining see-saw battles just outside the top 20 and went on to finish in 21st place after one of the most competitive drives of his maiden season.

 Beginning in 28th again for round 29 later in the day, Solomon moved into 26th position before the end of the first lap and climbed through into 22nd at the midway point. As in race one, the first year FIA F3 competitor produced some excellent driving and after moving into 21st place on lap 11 he broke into the top 20 prior to a second Safety Car period on the 13th tour.

 Making yet more progress after the re-start to take 19th position, all looked good for Solomon’s best finish of the weekend but dramas on the penultimate lap dropped the Double R racer to an eventual finish of 24th place.

 For round 30 on Sunday morning Solomon started in 28th place and after an early incident, which triggered the deployment of the Safety Car, he held 21st position at the resumption. Again racing well and battling through into 19th spot, a moment mid-race dropped Solomon to 25th and he went on to end the contest in 22nd position – albeit with pace a match for top 15 performance.

“Matt raced well this weekend, he definitely deserved better results than he ultimately got and the pace was pretty strong”, said team boss Hieatt, “Qualifying has been the sticking point again, a few more tenths there and it will really open things up for some consistent midfield finishes as Matt’s racecraft and pace in the races is improving all the time.”

Double R has another busy weekend in store when it next takes to the track, with MSA Formula and the FIA Formula 3 European Championship both back in action on 26th/27th September – MSA Formula will visit Silverstone while the F3 squad will travel to the Nurburgring in Germany.

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