The Promatecme Lola-Dome of Danny Watts took fighting 4th and 5th places at Spa Francorchamps over the weekend in the penultimate rounds of the Avon Tyres British Formula 3 Championship.This years Castle Combe race winner once again battled among the leading runners to come away from the scenic Belgian circuit with 18 points, which moved him up to 7th place in the title standings.
After qualifying an impressive 5th in the only qualifying session on Saturday morning, Danny initially made a good start but was squeezed on to the kerbing at Radillion and lost momentum on the long run down to Les Combes, letting Danilo Dirani and Fairuz Fauzy through. Forever a charging driver, Danny had soon re-taken the position that Fauzy had snatched from him and he also put a brave move on Greg Franchi at Les Combes before the safety car was deployed after an accident at La Source.
At the re-start Danny’s Neil Brown prepared Mugen-Honda powered car was soon on Dirani’s tail, looking for a way through in to 3rd position. Despite his best efforts he was just unable to find a way through and was forced to settle for a worthy 4th place finish.
“I had to really defend on the first few corners and lost a few postions but managed to get them back quite quickly,” reflected Danny after the race. “It was a good race with plenty going on in the early running and it was a shame that we couldn’t get a podium but it is always a pleasure to race near the front at a great drivers circuit such as Spa and on the whole the car was mighty.”
Race 2 took place on Sunday morning with the grid being decided on the result of race one. From 4th on the grid, Danny made a terrific start to take 3rd from Dirani before challenging Piccione for 2nd place on the way up to Les Combes.
Just like the first event, the Embassy Racing backed Lola-Dome found itself in a battle with the Carlin Dallara of Dirani This time though, it was Watts ahead but under tremendous pressure from the Brazilian. “It was a good battle because he was quicker on the straight but I could claw it back in the slow corners,” said the 24 year old. “He actually got me at Les Combes on one lap but I was able to re-take the position almost immediately.”
After a furious battle for the position Danny was forced to settle for 4th as Dirani used his straightline speed advantage to get ahead, once again at Les Combes. Championship protagonist Nelsinho Piquet had been catching this battle hand over fist and was also soon battling with the Lola-Dome. Living up to his reputation as a dogged racer, Danny defended the place vigorously but was powerless to stop the Brazilian from powering through on lap 7. But true to form, Danny fought back and fleetingly took the position back at La Source with an audacious move, only for the lilac Dallara to re-take the position on the run down to Eau Rouge in what was undoubtedly the battle of the race.
“It was enjoyable to fight with both Danilo and Nelson,” said Danny. “But again we just didn’t have the legs of them on the straights, particularly on the run up to Les Combes. But we still came away from here with a lot of points which is great as 5th place in the Championship is now really up for grabs as we head to Brands for the last rounds.”
As well as focusing on taking Danny Watts to more victories in the remaining rounds of this years Avon Tyres British Formula Three Championship, Lola engineers are also hard at work designing next years chassis, which is set to be even better than the ground breaking F106/03 design. The new car will further build upon the success that has not only garnered victory in the British series, but also in Japan and Italy, where Finnish driver Toni Vilander scored his 5th win of the season in his Coloni Lola-Dome at Varano last season and lies a close 2nd in the series standings.
