Maiden wins for Randle and Collard as Bortoleto walks away unscathed from airborne crash

It was a day of fast starts, first-time winners and one very big crash at Rockingham on Sunday (1 May), as Douglas Motorsport’s Thomas Randle and Carlin’s Ricky Collard made up multiple positions into the first corner to take race two and three victory respectively. In the opening race of the day, Double R Racing’s Enzo Bortoleto went end-over-end at Chapman Curve but got out of his car unharmed, a great testament to the strength of the Tatuus chassis.

A bright Sunday morning greeted the teams and drivers for races two and three of the weekend. The first encounter of the day saw Fortec Motorsports Tarun Reddy start from pole position by virtue of his eighth place finish in race one on Saturday. He had Carlin’s Ameya Vaidyanathan for company on the front-row and as the lights went out, it was Vaidyanathan who made the better start, taking the lead into turn one. Douglas Motorsport’s Enaam Ahmed also made a brilliant getaway from the second row of the grid and he passed Reddy, then slid down the inside of Vaidyanathan into the Deene hairpin to snatch first place.As the field snaked its way through the first few corners however, Brazilian Enzo Bortoleto, who had started 12th, was launched into the air at Chapman Curve. His car barrel-rolled, before hitting the grass nose first and consequently flipping end-over-end, before coming to rest upside down. The marshals were quickly on the scene and, once righted, Bortoleto was able to climb out of his car and walk away from the shunt, a testament to the strength of the Tatuus-Cosworth car.

The race was red flagged and the field subsequently lined up for the restart in original grid order. As the lights went out for a second time, Reddy was slow away again and Ahmed attempted to slot through the middle of the all-Indian front-row. However, contact was made between the trio and Ahmed lost his front-wing, resulting in a trip to the pits. The clash enabled Ahmed’s Douglas team-mate Randle to take advantage and move into second, having started fifth, before the Australian grabbed the lead under braking into the Deene hairpin.

Matheus Leist jumped from sixth to third with race one winner Lando Norris also making a good start, ending the first lap in fifth, having lined up eighth. Reddy lost five places and found himself in sixth as the field crossed the line after the opening lap.

Norris passed Finnish racer Aleksanteri Huovinen for fourth as the race approached its halfway stage before he continued his charge by moving into the final podium spot, passing Huovinen’s Double R team-mate Leist. At the front, Randle eked out his lead and it moved over the one-second mark with three laps remaining. Vaidyanathan was falling into the clutches of his team-mate Norris but the 16-year-old couldn’t quite get close enough and he had to settle for third. Randle meanwhile calmly completed the final lap and saw the chequered flag 1.308s clear of Vaidyanathan.

Speaking on the podium after the race, Randle said: “It is an awesome feeling! I woke up this morning hoping that we could get a win or a podium and I just can’t thank the guys enough at Douglas Motorsport. It is awesome to finally get the monkey off my back and hopefully we will get some more.”

After posting the fastest lap from across the first two races of the weekend, Carlin’s Lando Norris started first for race three with Leist for company on the front-row. After a big effort from Double R Racing’s mechanics, Enzo Bortoleto was able to take the start after his big race two off and he lined up 14th.As the lights went out, Norris was tardy away and he immediately had both Leist and Ricky Collard swarming either side of him on the run to turn one. Collard moved ahead of Norris on the inside and then saw off the challenge of Leist on the outside to take the lead, holding it as they filtered through the Deene hairpin. Lanan Racing’s Toby Sowery also made a lightning getaway and he passed a number of cars to move into fourth behind Norris, having started seventh.

The rest of the field made it through the first few corners without incident until Yentwood, where Indian Krishnaraaj Mahadik and South African Eugene Denyssen made contact, putting paid to both their races. The safety car was deployed, neutralising the race, to enable the marshals to recover both machines.

When the race restarted, Collard made a superb getaway, opening up a 0.921s advantage as they crossed the timing line. Leist in turn was unchallenged by Norris and the leading trio soon began sprinting off into the distance. At the midway stage, Collard had a lead of just over one second over Leist, with Norris half-a-second back in third. The gap back to fourth continued to widen as Lanan Racing’s Toby Sowery was forced to defend from race two winner Randle, and the Australian finally made his way past the former championship leader with a move into the Deene hairpin.

As the race headed into its closing stages, Collard was in control up front as Enaam Ahmed followed his Douglas Motorsport team-mate by getting past Sowery to take fifth on the very last lap. Collard completed his last tour untroubled and finished 1.228s clear of Leist, with Norris in third.

After the race, Collard said: “It is a fantastic feeling to be a British F3 race-winner. It is something I’ve dreamt about since I was a little boy and now to have it is pretty surreal. I’ve got to massively thank the team and all my sponsors as it has been a solid weekend for the Carlin boys and I can’t thank them enough. It would be nice to get my name on the trophy at the end of the year but we are in a really good position leading the championship.”

Collard now leads the championship on 186 points, 22 points ahead of Toby Sowery, with Leist just one point further adrift in third. Race two winner Randle is just three points back on 160 in fourth, with Norris now fifth on 153 points.

The fourth round of the 2016 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship takes place at Oulton on May 28-30.

BRDC British Formula 3 – Rockingham – Race Two Top-10

1. Thomas Randle, Douglas Motorsport, 13 Laps

2. Ameya Vaidyanathan, Carlin, +1.232s

3. Lando Norris, Carlin, +1.694s

4. Matheus Leist, Double R Racing, +8.121s

5. Aleksanteri Huovinen, Double R Racing, +9.301s

6. Tarun Reddy, Fortec Motorsports, +10.912s

7. Ricky Collard, Carlin, +11.159s

8. Toby Sowery, Lanan Racing, +11.622s

9. Thomas Maxwell, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +15.015s

10. Jan Jonck, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +17.240s

Click here for full results.

BRDC British Formula 3 – Rockingham – Race Three Provisional Top-10

1. Ricky Collard, Carlin, 15 Laps

2. Matheus Leist, Double R Racing, +1.228s

3. Lando Norris, Carlin, +2.182s

4. Thomas Randle, Douglas Motorsport, +12.551s

5. Enaam Ahmed, Douglas Motorsport, +16.829s

6. Toby Sowery, Lanan Racing, +17.293s

7. Aleksanteri Huovinen, Double R Racing, +17.628s

8. Tarun Reddy, Fortec Motorsports, +18.784s

9. Thomas Maxwell, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, +20.409s

10. Quinlan Lall, Chris Dittmann Racing, +21.014s

Click here for full results.

2016 BRDC British Formula 3 standings after race nine of 24

1. Ricky Collard, Carlin, 186 points

2. Toby Sowery, Lanan Racing, 164 points

3. Matheus Leist, Double R Racing, 163 points

4. Thomas Randle, Douglas Motorsport, 160 points

5. Lando Norris, Carlin, 153 points

6. Aleksanteri Huovinen, Double R Racing, 141 points

7. Enaam Ahmed, Douglas Motorsport, 130 points

8. Thomas Maxwell, Sean Walkinshaw Racing, 112 points

9. Sisa Ngebulana, HHC Motorsport, 110 points

10. Tarun Reddy, Fortec Motorsports, 96 points

Click here for full championship standings.