British F3 challengers take on Spa-Francorchamps this weekend
The fifth round of the 2017 BRDC British F3 season takes place at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend (7/8 July), with three races at the majestic Belgian Grand Prix venue
The UK’s premier single-seater championship heads across the English channel to Spa-Francorchamps this weekend (7/8 July), partnering British GT, following the recent Silverstone round that dramatically altered the complexion of the title battle.
The Silverstone weekend was dominated by Lanan Racing’s Toby Sowery, who took pole position in qualifying, two wins and a second place to propel him up to third overall in the title standings after a tough start to the season. Sowery will be aiming to build on this momentum and take advantage of competing on another high speed track at Spa to help his title bid in the second half of the season.
Consistent results at Silverstone enabled championship leader Enaam Ahmed to extend his title advantage, however. This was helped by a strong performance from Carlin team-mate James Pull, who finished on the podium three times at the British Grand Prix venue to move him up to second place, 58 points behind Ahmed, but only five ahead of Sowery. Ahmed, Pull and Carlin’s third driver, fourth-placed Cameron Das will be out for victories at Spa.
A race two win at Silverstone for Fortec’s Ben Hingeley was followed by a collision with Douglas Motorsport’s Callan O’Keeffe in race three. Both drivers will be determined to gain ground on their title rivals in Belgium.
The championship top ten is completed by Chris Dittmann Racing’s Omar Ismail, Hillspeed’s Chase Owen, Fortec’s Nicolai Kjaergaard and Jamie Chadwick, who is joined at Double R Racing by Swede Linus Lundqvist, who’ll be making his British F3 debut at one of the toughest tracks on the calendar. The field will also be boosted by the return of Chris Dittmann Racing’s Tristan Charpentier.
Two of last year’s races at Spa-Francorchamps were won by Lando Norris, who went on to claim the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award and is currently a member of the McLaren-Honda Young Driver development programme. Australian Thomas Randle won the second race of the event, whilst Sowery was the only one of this year’s contenders to stand on the podium at last year’s round.
This year’s action at Spa-Francorchamps gets underway with the 30-minute qualifying session on Friday at 10:50 before race one follows at 15:45. The partially reversed-grid race two begins at10:40 on Saturday morning before the third and final race of the weekend gets underway at14:20.
You can keep up with all the action from Spa-Francorchamps through live timing and updates on the official British Formula 3 website. Highlights of the racing in Belgium will also be broadcast on ITV4, BT Sport and Motorsport.tv one week after the meeting.
BRDC British F3 Championship standings after 12 of 24 rounds
1. Enaam Ahmed, Carlin, 310pts
2. James Pull, Carlin, 252pts
3. Toby Sowery, Lanan Racing, 247pts
4. Cameron Das, Carlin, 247pts
5. Ben Hingeley, Fortec Motorsports, 241pts
6. Callan O’Keeffe, Douglas Motorsport, 214pts
7. Omar Ismail, Chris Dittmann Racing, 128pts
8. Chase Owen, Hillspeed, 128pts
9. Nicolai Kjaergaard, Fortec Motorsports, 122pts
10. Jamie Chadwick, Double R Racing, 121pts
For full championship standings, please click here.
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