Double R Racing’s F3 title bid enhanced by two podiums for Leist Brazilian ace finishes runner-up in Rd16 and Rd18 at SpaBortoleto and Huovinen retain top 10 championship placings
Double R Racing’s Matheus Leist further boosted his BRDC British Formula 3 Championship title challenge at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium over the weekend with two runner-up finishes, in rounds 16 and 18, moving the Brazilian to within just four points of the series lead.
From fourth on the grid in race one of the weekend on Friday, 8th July, Leist climbed through to be in a position to challenge for victory but the contest ended prematurely following an incident, so he had to settle for second place. Finishing fifth in race two on Saturday, 9th July, Leist returned to the podium in the final encounter in second again – just 0.5 seconds shy of the win.
Team-mates Enzo Bortoleto and Aleksanteri Huovinen didn’t enjoy such a straightforward weekend, with both drivers encountering a mixed event. Bortoleto achieved a brace of top 10 finishes, and moved ahead of Huovinen in the driver standings, while the Finn’s challenge was badly impacted by a race one incident and retirement. He took a best finish of 15th place in race two.
“It’s been a great weekend for Matheus, things have really closed up at the top of the championship and the fight is definitely on”, said Double R team boss Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt, “Two second places are good, to be honest I think we could’ve won race one if it hadn’t been red flagged.
“Enzo and Aleksanteri had a mixed weekend but they’re both still in the championship top 10, so that’s positive. Overall, we showed good pace again this weekend and we’re looking forward to Snetterton now in a few weeks. It’s definitely game on for the championship.”
Leist, unsurprisingly, started the test day on Thursday, 7th July, as the fastest driver and remained among the lead contenders going into qualifying before posting the fourth quickest lap in the grid-determining session. Huovinen, having been in the top 10 throughout testing, just missed the top half of the grid with the 12th fastest time while Bortoleto was 13th fastest.
At the start of round 16 on Friday afternoon, Leist leapt into the top three but his team-mates didn’t enjoy as much fortune – Huovinen was ruled out of the race almost immediately after a tangle at the first corner and Bortoleto was bundled back to 17th position.
After an early Safety Car period, triggered by the Huovinen incident, the action resumed on lap three and Leist continued to hold third place just a few tenths of a second behind Ricky Collard. Piling on the pressure, the Brazilian made the breakthrough on the fifth tour to climb into second and he closed to within 0.9 seconds of race leader Lando Norris before the contest was red flagged.
Bortoleto, with a lot to do after his early dramas, mounted a very strong recovery and he charged through into 14th place on the first racing lap after the Safety Car period. Continuing to make good progress, he moved up into the top 10 prior to the race stoppage on lap seven.
Leist started round 17 from seventh on the ‘reverse grid’ and quickly climbed into the top six before pressuring for fifth. Gaining the position on lap two, the Double R driver continued his strong rise through the order by moving into fourth the next time around and he then set about challenging for the podium. On lap five, though, he slipped back to sixth place but recovered to fifth before the flag.
From the back of the 19 car grid after his unfortunate race one retirement, Huovinen carved his way through the order during the opening laps and by the halfway point the rapid Finn had impressively climbed into 13th position. Moving into the top 12 on lap five, Huovinen was bundled back to 16th place late on where he stayed to the finish.
Starting on the fifth row of the grid in 10th place, Bortoleto did slip back a position during the early going but moved back into the top 10 on lap four before again being nudged back in the closely matched midfield. Breaking back into 10th position on the eighth and penultimate lap, the Brazilian maintained the placing to the chequered flag.
Round 18 began with Leist second on the grid and he initially challenged for the lead before a loss of momentum, after running wide at La Source, ultimately meant he was edged back to third. Sticking with the lead duo during the first half of the contest, into lap six just 0.9 seconds covered the top three drivers and Leist struck to retake second before closing to within 0.5 seconds of the win.
Bortoleto, from 14th on the grid, made steady progress during the early laps and moved into 11th place by lap four. Edged back a couple of positions over the next two tours, the Brazilian racer climbed back into the top 12 before the chequered flag.
Frustratingly for Huovinen, his luckless weekend continued with a steering wheel problem on the way to the grid. Resulting in a pitlane start for the Finn, after the Double R mechanics fitted a new unit, he worked his way through the order into 14th spot before slipping to 16th on the final lap.
The penultimate event of the BRDC British F3 season will take place over the weekend 6th/7th August back on UK soil, at Snetterton 300 Circuit in East Anglia. Before then, Double R Racing will be in action at the Norfolk venue with its F4 British Championship team on 30th/31st July.
2016 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship Driver Standings:2nd Matheus Leist, 350pts8th Enzo Bortoleto, 190pts10th Aleksanteri Huovinen, 188pts
