Double R Racing drivers Matt Solomon and Nicolas Pohler helped the British team end its FIA Formula 3 European Championship season on a high at Hockenheim on Sunday, 18th October, with Pohler claiming his strongest finish of 2015 and Solomon almost matching his own season-best.
The final round of the campaign, which took place on a damp but drying track, was very much a race of attrition with no fewer than four Safety Car interventions but Double R’s pairing sensibly picked their way through the dramas – Solomon finishing in 14th place and Pohler right behind in 15th.
“It’s great to have come away with some good results from the last race of the championship, Matt and Nici both did a good job in difficult circumstances and tricky conditions early on”, said Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt, Double R team principal, “It’s been a challenging season for both of them, FIA Formula 3 is about as competitive as it gets, but great to end the final weekend so positively.”
Fog greeted competitors at the German track on Sunday morning but by the time the F3 contest was scheduled to begin, visibility had significantly improved. Solomon lined-up 29th on the grid, with Pohler in 31st position, and with a fair amount of moisture on the track surface the Double R drivers began the race on treaded Hankook rubber.
Pohler enjoyed a superb opening lap, gaining an incredible 11 places to climb into the top 20, while Solomon also made good gains to move up into 24th position. Pohler continued to work his way up the pecking order, moving into 18th place on lap two, but on lap four his progress was halted when he was tagged into a spin by Pietro Fittipaldi – dropping Pohler to 27th place.
Shortly after, as a result of Fittipaldi’s car being stranded on track, the Safety Car was deployed and those drivers on wet-weather tyres all swarmed into the pits to change to slicks. Solomon pitted from 21st and Pohler from 27th, before rejoining in 27th and 30th places respectively.
Racing resumed on lap eight but the Safety Car was almost immediately re-deployed, the action then resuming on lap 11 at the second time of asking. With more pit-stops and a variety of spins taking place over the first couple of tours, though, the Double R duo moved up into 16th and 17th.
Following a third Safety Car period, and a drive-through penalty for Markus Pommer, Solomon and Pohler moved up into 15th and 16th respectively but as soon as racing resumed again the Safety Car made its fourth appearance and remained on track to the conclusion. Due to a 10 second penalty for Tatiana Calderon, Solomon ended the race in an excellent 14th with Pohler a season-best 15th.
Rounds 31 and 32 on Saturday also featured a variety of Safety Car interruptions, race one falling under caution almost as soon as it started. Solomon, who qualified 27th on the grid, had a good launch but was caught-up in a tangle at the second turn and so concluded the lap in 29th place.
Pohler, though, enjoyed an excellent opening lap after picking his way through from the back of the 33 car grid into 24th position – the German had qualified 30th but a penalty from the previous round put him to the last row.
When racing resumed, Pohler held position initially before gaining two places at the expense of Matt Rao and Julio Moreno. Then leaping into the top 20 at the end of lap five following drive-through penalties for two competitors, Pohler remained there into the closing stages of the 22 lap contest but was edged back to 22nd place before the finish.
Solomon produced a strong showing to work his way back up towards the top 20 after his early delay, climbing into 21st position by the start of lap eight and gradually catching his team-mate before a late moment resulted in a drop to 26th place.
Race two on Saturday afternoon began with Solomon in 28th place and Pohler in 30th position and the Double R duo had a trouble free first lap, with Solomon moving up three spots and Pohler also gaining a place.
After two early Safety Car periods in quick succession, Solomon ran in 22nd with Pohler 25th but hopes of a push towards the top 20 didn’t materialise. Solomon slipped back to 28th place mid-race before ending the contest an improved 27th while Pohler battled back from his own slip down the order to finish in 25th place. Post-race, though, both were elevated a spot due to a rival’s exclusion.
Double R’s attention now turns towards the annual end-of-year Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix which takes place in the former Portuguese enclave over the weekend 21st/22nd November. The team will confirm its driver line-up in the coming weeks.
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