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Post by Senninha on Apr 1, 2003 9:52:59 GMT -5
One of my favouritist motor sport championships (British F3) begins this weekend, and I'm getting particularly excited about it. The championship class entry list is quite impressive this year, and while the scholorship class contains many question marks, I'm looking forward to a season long battle between Steven Kane and Christian England. As yet, there are no clear favourites for the championship, the Carlin drivers all running well in testing. The Fortec of Robert Dahlgren should be able to mix it with the best, and I'm expecting other strong performances from Clivio Piccione (when he's not in the gravel!!), Will Davison and the two Promatecmes. It will be interesting to see how well the Hitech cars go (a breakaway team formed from former Fortec team members). British F3 promises to be one of the closest seasons in years... and I can't wait until Saturday... See you at Donington...  |
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Post by Henrik on Apr 1, 2003 15:42:08 GMT -5
One of ny favouritist notor sport chanpionships (British F3) begins this weekend, and (I've got a snall penis) (I've got a snall penis) I'n getting particularly excited about it. the freakin' freakin' chanpionship class entry list is quite inpressive this year, and (I've got a snall penis) (I've got a snall penis) while the freakin' freakin' scolorship class contains nany question narks, I'n looking forward to a season long battle between Steven Kane and (I've got a snall penis) (I've got a snall penis) Christian England. Ummm, Senninha, are we having a bit of trouble typing today?  |
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Post by Senninha on Apr 2, 2003 2:36:14 GMT -5
That was weird - I only had to change the first paragraph!! What did I do in the last one to make it change back automatically... It should read more easily now... but there was nothing I could do yesterday... and it was driving me nuts!!! Especially seeing as it WAS after 12:00 here...  |
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Post by Wycco on Apr 2, 2003 9:44:27 GMT -5
LOL...
Senn- you must have done a copy and paste to get that- the April fools switch- got turned off- and everything reverted back to how it was typed!
The only way it would stay like it did was if it were typed that way---- OR you did a copy and paste of existing text (that had been hit by the switch!)
Sorry about that!
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Post by Senninha on Apr 4, 2003 10:14:41 GMT -5
Ahhh, I do recall previewing and stuff to try and bypass the 'fool'... it was doing my nut in at one point!! lol!
I think i thought, oh, it'll all change back anyway, but it changed before the preview, and obviusly, when I clicked Post, it became 'what I'd written'.
Nice idea, btw, but remind me next time to avoid posting when stuff like that happens!!!
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Post by Senninha on Apr 7, 2003 5:15:53 GMT -5
Very good, if eventful start to the season, although perhaps looking more like a one horse race than i thought it would - but a very good one at that. I spent Saturday at Donington, which was interesting in many ways, and it gave me the chance to not only learn how to identify each car individually (apart from the Malaysians!!! Tehy all look the same), but also spend some time looking at the drivers on and off the track. First of all, can I say how smooth Nelson Angelo is, that surprised me. It didn't surprise me when he was excluded from first qualifying however, if you believe all the tales about Piquet cheating when they did SudAm F3 last season. The problem was with the brake duct being too large, which was rectified before second qualifying by one of the mechanics cutting the offending item down to size, and filing it off. Suffice to say his father looked at the very least unimpressed by the whole situation, so no racing for Angelo in race 1. He made up for it in second qualifying however, by taking second place on the grid for race 2. Jamie Green proved magical in both sessions, and later in the races as well, although was disqualified from race 1, along with teammate Antinucci, for running the wrong set of tyres. Turns out that Carlin had made a cock up and put 'Nucci's tyres on Jamie's car, and Jamie's tyres on Nuccis... Not very impressive when they are 2 of my 3 favourite drivers... Grrrr!!! Ernesto Jose Viso proved he's a Clivio Piccione/Felipe Massa in the making by showing how fast he can be, before spinning off in the opening laps in both races!! If he can keep the thing on the black stuff, he should do fine, as he did in qualifying. I can't wait to watch the races this coming weekend on TV, but until then, I shall have to leave you with Autosport.com's race reports. |
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Post by Senninha on Apr 7, 2003 5:16:36 GMT -5
Race 1: Green wins on debut
Brit takes first F3 win despite pressure from Alan van der Merwe
British Formula 3 championship rookie Jamie Green led from start to finish to win the opening round of the series at Donington Park today (Sunday), despite race-long pressure from Carlin Motorsport team-mate Alan van der Merwe.
The McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award winner started from the pole, but was tailed for the whole race by the Dutchman, who made a great start from fifth on the grid to run second going into the first corner.
Van der Merwe then closed right up to Green with just five laps of the race remaining. Responding to the pressure, the Briton pulled away again until traffic on the penultimate lap allowed van der Merwe to close enough to try a move going into the chicane. Green hugged the inside line to retain the lead, and withstood the pressure over the final lap to claim the win.
Michael Keohane, racing for Promatecme in a one round deal, took third, helped by a blistering start from sixth on the grid that allowed him to dive past Richard Antinucci and Rob Austin going into the craner curves on the first lap.
Antinucci then pressured the Irish driver for several laps, before unsuccessfully trying to find his way past on lap eight. The American lost a lot of momentum in the process, allowing Austin through to claim fourth.Ernesto Viso looked set to dominate the Scholarship class, running seventh overall and building a substantial lead over his class rivals in the early laps. But the Venezuelan spun off of his own accord on the fourth lap, allowing Karun Chandhok to inherit the win.
Donington Park race 1 results
Pos Driver Team Chassis-engine
1 Jamie Green Carlin Motorsport Dallara Mugen-Honda
2 Alan van der Merwe Carlin Motorsport Dallara Mugen-Honda
3 Michael Keohane Promatecme Dallara Mugen-Honda
4 Rob Austin Menu Motorsport Dallara Opel
5 Richard Antinucci Carlin Motorsport Dallara Mugen-Honda
6 Ronnie Bremer Carlin Motorsport Dallara Mugen-Honda
7 Fairuz Fauzy Team SYR Dallara Opel
8 Clivio Piccione Manor Motorsport Dallara Mugen-Honda
9 Ernani Judice Promatecme Dallara Mugen-Honda
10 Karun Chandhok T-Sport Dallara Mugen-Honda
Scholarship class
1 Karun Chandhok T-Sport Dallara Mugen-Honda
2 Christian England Promatecme Dallara Mugen-Honda
3 Steven Kane T-Sport Dallara Mugen-Honda
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Post by Senninha on Apr 7, 2003 5:17:14 GMT -5
Race 2: Green makes amends
Briton makes amends after race one disqualification
After losing his victory in the first race of the day due to a technical infringement Jamie Green made amends in style, winning the second round of the British Formula 3 championship at Donington Park.
The Briton started from the pole again, and pulled away from the lights into a lead he was never to lose. Carlin Motorsport team-mate Alan van der Merwe, who inherited victory in race one, chased Green for the whole race distance to finish second.
Third place went to Nelson Piquet Jr, who was also out to make amends after he was unable to start the first race following the disqualification of his qualifying time.
Rob Austin claimed fourth after surviving an early scrap with Richard Antinucci. The American tried a brave pass going into the craner curves on lap two but spun off. He eventually recovered to finish 11th.
Ronnie Bremer finished fifth, ahead of Adam Carroll, who gave an impressive debut to the new Lola-Dome chassis.
Steven Kane took victory in the scholarship class, but trouble once again befell the category pace setter, Ernesto Viso. The Venezuelan was leading the category, but crashed out of the race whilst avoiding the spinning Antinucci.Donington Park race 2 results
Pos Driver Team Chassis-engine
1 Jamie Green Carlin Motorsport Dallara Mugen-Honda
2 Alan van der Merwe Carlin Motorsport Dallara Mugen-Honda
3 Nelson Piquet Jr Piquet Sports Dallara Mugen-Honda
4 Rob Austin Menu Motorsport Dallara Opel
5 Ronnie Bremer Carlin Motorsport Dallara Mugen-Honda
6 Adam Carroll Sweeney Racing Lola-Dome Opel
7 Robert Dahlgren Fortec Motorsport Dallara Renault
8 Danny Watts Hitech Racing Dallara Renault
9 Ernani Judice Promatecme Dallara Mugen-Honda
10 Fabio Carbone Fortec Motorsport Dallara Renault
Scholarship class
1 Steven Kane T-Sport Dallara Mugen-Honda
2 Karun Chandhok T-Sport Dallara Mugen-Honda
3 Ivor McCullough Meritus Racing Dallara Mugen-Honda
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Post by Senninha on Apr 7, 2003 5:17:40 GMT -5
And the DSQ...
Green loses win due to tyre mix-up
Briton and Carlin motorsport team-mate Antinucci excluded
Controversy has hit the opening round of the British Formula 3 championship, with race winner Jamie Green and team-mate Richard Antinucci both disqualified after a tyre mix-up by Carlin Motorsport.
Post-race scrutineers discovered that Green had raced on the tyres Antinucci used for qualifying, and vice versa. Although no performance advantage would be gained, this violates the championship rules, and so both drivers were disqualified. Fellow Carlin driver Alan van der Merwe has inherited the victory.
The team accepts that it made a simple mistake and that it is in contravention of the rules. Carlin did appeal the decision, but its claims were rejected by the stewards.Revised race one results
Pos Driver Team Chassis-engine
1 Alan van der Merwe Carlin Motorsport Dallara Mugen-Honda
2 Michael Keohane Promatecme Dallara Mugen-Honda
3 Rob Austin Menu Motorsport Dallara Opel
4 Ronnie Bremer Carlin Motorsport Dallara Mugen-Honda
5 Fairuz Fauzy Team SYR Dallara Opel
6 Clivio Piccione Manor Motorsport Dallara Mugen-Honda
7 Ernani Judice Promatecme Dallara Mugen-Honda
8 Karun Chandhok T-Sport Dallara Mugen-Honda
9 Robert Dahlgren Fortec Motorsport Dallara Renault
10 Will Davison Alan Docking Racing Dallara Mugen-Honda
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Post by Senninha on Apr 7, 2003 5:25:49 GMT -5
Other points of note: Adam Carroll looks impressive in race 2. Not a bad debut weekend for the new Lola therefore. Contrary to Autosports first report, Alan van der Merwe is not Dutch, he's south african. The one formerly known as Mohammed Fairuz, seems to have put in a very impressive performance for race 2 finishing 5th. He gets more and more like Alex Yoong by the day.... Oh, and one more mistake from Autosport. Fabio Carbone (race 2 10th) was racing for Hitech not Fortec replacing Eric Salignon, who was taken ill (not wanting to repeat that too many times Mr Titchmarsh?!?!) in the past week. Iccle Fab (as I call him) is set to compete in the new Euro F3 series later in the season, after acing Brit F3 last year. Nice to see him pick up at least one point, but overall I would have liked to have seen Robert Dahlgren get better results over the weekend, no doubt hindered by the lack of a teammate. British F3 is go... and if you think Kimi is good... don't get too excited... Jamie Green never ceases to amaze me... |
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Post by Henrik on Apr 7, 2003 7:29:00 GMT -5
Other points of note: Adam Carroll looks impressive in race 2. Not a bad debut weekend for the new Lola therefore. Contrary to Autosports first report, Alan van der Merwe is not Dutch, he's south african. The one formerly known as Mohammed Fairuz, seems to have put in a very impressive performance for race 2 finishing 5th. He gets more and more like Alex Yoong by the day.... Oh, and one more mistake from Autosport. Fabio Carbone (race 2 10th) was racing for Hitech not Fortec replacing Eric Salignon, who was taken ill (not wanting to repeat that too many times Mr Titchmarsh?!?!) in the past week. Iccle Fab (as I call him) is set to compete in the new Euro F3 series later in the season, after acing Brit F3 last year. Nice to see him pick up at least one point, but overall I would have liked to have seen Robert Dahlgren get better results over the weekend, no doubt hindered by the lack of a teammate. British F3 is go... and if you think Kimi is good... don't get too excited... Jamie Green never ceases to amaze me... Senninha, Thanks for the very complete update! The only thing missing is the tape of the races ;D Sounds like you must have had a good weekend! I'm a bit relieved to see that even professional teams can mess up things like the tires (see my first kart race this year!!). About Carroll, I have no idea how good a driver he is, but do you have any more input on that as I'm really very curious about the Lola/Dome chassis and how good it might turn out to be. What can I say, I like Lolas...... |
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Post by Senninha on Apr 7, 2003 9:45:31 GMT -5
Senninha, Thanks for the very complete update! The only thing missing is the tape of the races ;D Sounds like you must have had a good weekend! I'm a bit relieved to see that even professional teams can mess up things like the tires (see my first kart race this year!!). About Carroll, I have no idea how good a driver he is, but do you have any more input on that as I'm really very curious about the Lola/Dome chassis and how good it might turn out to be. What can I say, I like Lolas...... Henrik, The advantage of visiting qualifying days for things like that is that you get to see things which don't get shown on TV. The races are scheduled to be shown here in the UK on channel 4 on Saturday morning, so I'll know the ins and outs then, and will probably have more to add. I have a lot more to add to my reports anyway, but time permits and it isn't possible for me to tell you everything, although once my photos have been developed, i may add some more, and upload the photos as necessary (particularly if the photos of the Carlin drivers in the motorhome are good!). There is also an issue with a guy who crashed in front of us in the BRDC single seaters race, who I thought was going to die. Fortunately he appeared concious when they put him in the ambulance, but we will have to wait until Wednesday or Thursday before I get Motorsport News/Autosport and read the reports before we know how he is. I will add more on that when I know more than just what I saw, but it would be enough for me to know he was alive, not because the crash (roll) was particularly bad, but the fact that his helmet flew off as the van dieman landed upside down. And eventful end to an incredibly eventful day. He appeared to be reasonably ok, and the guy he collided with raced in the second race on Sunday, so the signs are good, but I will add more when I knw more, as I said. Anyway, I was supposed to be talking about Adam Carroll!! He is good. He dominated the scolorship class last season with Sweeney, and put in some very impressive performances the year before in FFord with the 'same' team. He was a McLaren Autosport Young driver finalist last season and while not as good as Green, he is very promising and I would have put him a close second to Green from the finalists. The Lola-Dome project appears to be going well. I believe it won it's first F3 race in Japan the other week at Suzuka, and it's good to see some rivals to the Dallara chassis after all this time. Michael Keohane was supposed to be racing as Carrolls teammate but decided to go for a safe Dallara Promatecme and did reasonably well over the weekend I think. The Lola ran much better than the sole Ralt (driven by Will Power), but that could partially be attributed to Power's lack of knowledge of the circuits (having previously only raced in Austrailia) and Diamond racings step up to the Championship class. Maybe the new lola is not so impressive however, as we discovered last season, that several of the scolorship old dallaras went for races where they outpaced last years Dallara. The regulations in F3 are such that last years Dallara F302 (a completely new model) is restricted in development for 3 seasons (cost-cutting I believe) so basically this years car, the F303, is relatively similar. The F300 (I think), however, run by scolorship cars last season, was at least a match for the newer F302.. so we will see. I assume similar restrcitions will apply to Lola however, and i think this is also an international regulation, most probably via the FIA. The Lola-Dome was very nice to look at though  The Ralt was a bit strange... |
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Post by Senninha on Apr 15, 2003 10:44:05 GMT -5
There is also an issue with a guy who crashed in front of us in the BRDC single seaters race, who I thought was going to die. Fortunately he appeared concious when they put him in the ambulance, but we will have to wait until Wednesday or Thursday before I get Motorsport News/Autosport and read the reports before we know how he is. I will add more on that when I know more than just what I saw, but it would be enough for me to know he was alive, not because the crash (roll) was particularly bad, but the fact that his helmet flew off as the van dieman landed upside down. And eventful end to an incredibly eventful day. He appeared to be reasonably ok, and the guy he collided with raced in the second race on Sunday, so the signs are good, but I will add more when I knw more, as I said. Hopefully this weekend I will get the chance to upload some photos, but on a positive note - they took the guy to the hospital on Saturday immediately, and released him on the Sunday without any serious damage. When I upload the photos you might realise why this is a miracle...!!! |
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Post by Senninha on Apr 22, 2003 9:00:41 GMT -5
Must wait again to see the races, sounds exciting... but here is the official press release from those nice people in F3 (from www.f3-gt.com - but they also send you very nice e-mails on a frequent basis - thanks guys!! ) Van der Merwe’s double F3 victory at Snetterton Carlin Motorsport’s Alan van der Merwe dominated proceedings at Snetterton today (Sunday 20 April) in rounds 3 and 4 of the 2003 British F3 Championship gripped by AVON Tyres. The 22-year-old controlled both of the incident-packed races from the front of the field. Over a third of the racing laps over the two races were run behind the safety car as numerous competitors were involved in incidents that left cars strewn over all parts of the Norfolk circuit. In the third round two different Scholarship class racers were eliminated early while in the later race five cars were ruled out in the first two corners. But through it all came van der Merwe to take Carlin’s first wins at the venue with the team enjoying further podium success courtesy of Ronnie Bremer and Jamie Green. The key to van der Merwe’s Round Three victory was good restarts after the double safety car intervention. “Piquet must have been concentrating more on the people behind him,” he reckoned. “I was a bit concerned that no-one was bunching up behind the safety car so I just did my own thing.” The South African got away well at the green light with Piquet Jr in his shadow. A moment on the fourth lap at Riches, when he was forced onto the marbles by a slower car emerging from the pit lane, allowed the Brazilian to close up on the Carlin driver. But van der Merwe re-asserted his authority on the race and remained calm through two length safety periods to claim a well-deserved win. Ronnie Bremer was third for Carlin and in Piquet’s wheel tracks at the end, but the star was arguably Danny Watts who worked through to fourth. “The car was strong – we’re making massive progress,” he claimed. “I had some good battles with Bremer and Green – we’re going in the right direction. The infield at Riches became a car park for damaged Dallaras early on in race two with Scott Speed, Robert Dahlgren and Will Davison coming to grief. At Sear, the next corner, the Sweeney Racing Lola of Adam Carroll and Ernani Judice’s Promatecme car came together with Carroll coming off worst and Bremer also being sidelined. Despite the resultant safety car period van der Merwe continued his dominance, pulling away from a tyre-troubled Jamie Green at the restart. Rob Austin took third away from Piquet at Sear mid-race but felt he could have done more. “I was quicker than Green,” he said. “If he wasn’t there I could have run with van der Merwe, but he was and he backed me into Piquet.” Viso recovered from his Donington dramas to record his first points of the season with race one victory for Sweeney Racing. “It came by itself,” he said. “(Christian) England crashed in front of me but I was sure that even without that I could have got him.” Karun Chandhok picked up second for T-Sport. Later, Promatecme’s England was leading the class but T-Sport runner Steven Kane had made good progress. “I got on well and pushed myself up behind Christian,” he commented. “I knew I really had to put him under pressure – I did, and he went off!” Viso came through to take second place this time. For more details visit www.f3-gt.com. The next rounds in the championship are at Croft (North Yorks) on 3/4 May 2003. Round Three – Championship Class 1 Alan van der Merwe (Carlin Motorsport) 30m 25.377 2 Nelson Piquet Jr (Piquet Sport) 30m 29.829 3 Ronnie Bremer (Carlin Motorsport) 30m 30.430 4 Danny Watts (Hitech Racing) 30m 32.932 5 Jamie Green (Carlin Motorsport) 30m 34.743 6 Robert Dahlgren (Fortec Motorsport) 30m 34.838 Scholarship Class 1 Ernesto Viso (Sweeney Racing) 30m 38.121 2 Karun Chandhok (T-Sport) 30m 42.032 3 Justin Sherwood (Performance Racing) 30m 52.578 4 Steven Kane (T-Sport) 30m 52.643 5 Sergio Hernandez (Azteca Motorsport) 30m 53.350 6 Alex Pozzobon (Essencial Motorsports) 30m 56.848 Fastest Lap: Richard Antinucci (Carlin Motorsport) 1m 02.412s (112.59mph) Round Four – Championship Class 1 van der Merwe 36m 30.419 2 Green 36m 32.898 3 Rob Austin (Menu F3) 36m 33.514 4 Antinucci 36m 34.977 5 Piquet Jr 36m 35.052 6 Ernani Judice (Promatecme F3) 36m 37.052 Scholarship Class 1 Kane 36m 39.545 2 Viso 36m 42.747 3 Ivor McCullough (Meritus Racing) 36m 42.962 4 Chandhok 36m 47.318 5 Christian England (Promatecme F3) 36m 47.522 6 Sherwood 37m 03.759 Fastest Lap: Antinucci 1m 02.769 (111.95mph) |
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Post by Senninha on Apr 22, 2003 9:05:10 GMT -5
Grrr... if only 'Nucci could learn how to win races instead of just being entertaining, fast and aggressive!!! [Patrick Long's (where are you???) the same - another American racing in Europe... maybe there's a pattern here.. although I don't think 'Nucci's Italian blood helps him much] And there was me hoping van der Merwe wouldn't make it into a one race walk to the championship Hehe! |
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