An absolute brilliant display from our driver Oscar Williams in Germany as he took home a double back to back win, and the first driver in F3 this season to get a pole and race victories at a round. Sadly the attendance numbers were lower this round due to many drivers being away on holidays and things, including our own drivers Slava (who is currently testing real life racing cars) and Jack who is away enjoying the summer break. Both should be back for Macau, as well as many of the regular grid. But that took nothing away from the meeting as the quality of racing was evident throughout the pack. A huge congratulations to Oscar, to see how the race unfolded he race report is below: Qualifying Onlyvision led the pack pits and was first to set a time, which was quickly topped by Van T Land. It was Williams who first dipped into the 1:30's and gradually the times came down as many drivers would stay out to set a time on one set of tyres. Van T'Land lowered the goalpost a bit more with just under a minute on the clock. Williams crossed the line for his final attempt with just seconds left. With Van T Land unable to improve on his final lap, Williams was over 0.200 up in the first sector alone. With an amazing final lap Williams managed to pinch the pole away from the Inforward driver and set a 1:29.736 being the only driver in Qualifying to set a time under 1:30. Onlyvision snatched 3rd away from Syntax in the dying moments. Top3: Williams Van T Land Onlyvision Race 1 With most drivers enjoying their time away, the grid only consisted of 9 drivers for both races. A chance for many to close the gap up in the championship for some. Oscar and Martijn lead the pack with everyone making the first corner. Apart from Melbourne who might have had some contact or lost control into turn 1. The calm start to the race would set a pattern for race 1, the lack of drivers did not mean a lack of racing as battles however, as small pockets broke out throughout the field as they spread out. Syntax and Onlyvision fighting for 3rd, with Syntax closing in and able to follow closely and pressure Onlyvision into a mistake and tries for the outside at Turn 2. Onlyvision made an error and slides wide and Syntax cuts back underneath and takes 3rd away. Up front Williams and Van T Land are maintaining the gap to each other with amazing lap time consistency. Fox and Lamers are very close on track as the timer on Race 1 ticks down, they make contact coming into the stadium, Fox acknowledges it was his mistake as he pulls aside for Lamers to retake the place. With Syntax and Onlyvision about to lap Fox and Lamers, it is Onlyvision who seizes the opportunity through the back markers and glides beautifully down the inside of Syntax, not to be beaten and never giving up Syntax would fight Onlyvision until the end, coming close on the final lap, both showing each other a huge amount of respect as they were side by side but Onlyvision held off the challenge and remained 3rd. But it was Williams who took a very controlled victory in a very calm but controlled race by all drivers. Top 3: Williams Van T Land Onlyvision Race 2 As the second race got under way with Fox and Lamers lining up 1 and 2 on the reverse grid, it was Fox who got the faster start, Lamers had a dive down the inside into turn 2 which punted Fox off the track, he quickly rejoined and found himself side by side with Melbourne and Syntax down the straight. As the trio entered the braking zone for the hairpin, Melbournes car jinked towards Fox and collided with his car, this sent both drivers out of control as Melbourne slammed into the side of Syntax and Fox unable to take the correct line and carrying too much speed, hit the rear of Lamers. These accidents trigged one of the biggest pile ups of the season so far, with cars sprawled across the track and making it unavoidable for the cars behind. All 9 drivers were damaged in the mass pile up and the race had to be red flagged. With all the drivers returning to the pits, quickly fixing their damage ready for the restart. Quizno found himself the lead car controlling the pace behind him as the restart would be a rolling start. As they set off it was Quizno from Fox from DJB. Williams was all over the read of Van T Land on the restart. Quizno outbraked himself into the hairpin, distracting Fox who made the same mistake, both allowing DJB to be slip down the inside and tuck in behind Fox who was now leading. DJB unfortunately had too much wheelspin which put him off track. His team mate Quizno had a coming together with the West cork car of Melbourne, sending him sliding off track backwards. Fox continued to hold the lead which Syntax and Onlyvision in 2nd and 3rd. Van T Land had managed to stay head of Williams. The pair quickly scythed through the traffic, both dispatching Syntax within 2 corners. Behind it was Lamers time to make a move on Quizno, with a snatch of his front left brake, lamers past Quizno who had ran slightly wide at the hairpin. Williams made a move on Van T Land coming to the hairpin, with Van T Land fighting hard back to maintain the position, they exited the corner side by side, Williams had the outside line for the next corner but they remained side by side, nearly clashing wheels, with Williams on the outside he would be on the inside for the next corner and managed to just eek past into 2nd place with another fantastic display of fair sportsmanship and respect. Fox made an error coming into the stadium section and got two wheels in the gravel which, Syntax, Van T Land and Williams all took advantage passing him quickly. WIth Onlyvision's lead being eaten into by Williams and Van T Land it would only take a few more laps before they would be on the back of Onlyvision. With a clean sweeping pass into the chicane, Williams took the lead with Onlyvision trying to cut back and out accelerate him, but Williams had a great exit and was able to pull away from the JungerGP car. Onlyvision tried to stick to the back of Williams but ran off track and dipped a wheel into the gravel, slowing him down and letting lose Van T Land. Syntax eyed up a pass on Onlyvision into turn 1 but backed out wisely but would keep hounding Onlyvision lap after lap as they battled over 3rd. Another battle had developed for 7th between Quizno and the two West Cork racing cars chasing hard. A slide from Melbourne put him hard into the barrier then sent him spinning perilously close to taking out his team mate Lamers, just missing his rear wheel by inches, Melbourne had to pit his car after the incident fixing the damage but coming out a long way back in 9th. Fox running in 5th was being slowly caught by DJB, with Fox locking up into several corners each lap, DJB was able to pressure him hard as the race entered it's final 3 laps. Out in the lead Van T Land had kept within 1 second of Williams throughout most of the race, but never managed to mount a challenge as Williams, but kept up the pressure on him and was impressive how close the pair were, but it was Williams who would take a clean sweep, both race victories and the fastest lap, the first driver to do all three at one round this season in the F3's. Syntax still trying hard to find a way past Onlyvision as the pair seemed to be so evenly matched and Onlyvision defended his 3rd place it was a close fight but Onlyvision kept ahead at the chequered flag. DJB pushed Fox all the way to the line, it was Fox who would take home the number 5 spot. Van T'Land takes over the lead of the drivers championship as we head into the summer break with Williams second and Wagenvoort 3rd, with just 8 points covering them and Macau looks set to be one of the most challenging circuits on the calendar, it's going to be a very interesting race. Top 3: Williams Van T Land Onlyvision Watch a replay of the race here on youtube |
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AuthorR.T. Driver for Vermin Racing Archives
January 2019
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