Fortec Motorsport’s Lucas Foresti took a dominant win in Round 4 of the 2011 British Formula 3 Championship this afternoon. The 18-year old in his debut British F3 season quickly scampered away from pole position, breaking the lap record in the process.
Following up his first British F3 podium last week in Monza, the youngster went one better at the Cheshire track, finishing ahead of championship leader Felipe Nasr. Foresti also moved himself into 3rd in the championship overall, while Jazeman Jaafar rounded off the podium for Carlin.
Foresti finished a gaping 18 seconds ahead of Nasr after 21 laps, demonstrating his searing pace. 2nd place was initially held by 2010 National Champion Menasheh Idafar, but the T-Sport driver went off at Old Hall corner on lap 8, taking him out of the race.
Lucas commented after the race: “We did a great job, me, the team, Mercedes, everybody. We were all looking forward and working together. It's great, my first win and I hope the first of many.”
Fellow Brazilian Nasr was satisfied with 2nd: “It's a good result for the championship. We like to win all the time but sometimes it is not possible. I didn't take my best set of tyres for this race; there will be more speed to come in the later races.”
Another podium for Jaafar meant the Malaysian driver has scored 3 podiums in 4 races, giving him a solid footing in 2nd place in the championship. He lead home team-mate Carlos Huertas, and Pietro Fantin came home in 5th. Harry Tincknell claimed his first ever British F3 points by finishing 6th ahead of Riki Christodoulou and Kevin Magnussen. Scott Pye and Rupert Svendsen-Cook rounded out the Top 10.
Once again T-Sport’s Bart Hylkema took the Rookie Class victory, with fellow rookie Kotaro Sakurai claiming his first points of the season after a disastrous opening weekend in Italy.
Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series
Round 4, Oulton Park 23/4/2011
21 laps / 56.532 miles
Provisional results Championship class
1 Lucas FORESTI, Fortec Dallara-Mercedes 31m 19.106s / 108.30mph
2 Felipe NASR, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen +18.362s
3 Jazeman JAAFAR, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen +20.043s
4 Carlos HUERTAS, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen +24.677s
5 Pietro FANTIN, Hitech Dallara-Volkswagen +25.839s
6 Harry TINCKNELL, Fortec Dallara-Mercedes +27.110s
7 Riki CHRISTODOULOU, Hitech Dallara-Volkswagen +29.882s
8 Kevin MAGNUSSEN, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen +30.644s
9 Scott PYE, Double R Dallara-Mercedes +31.168s
10 Rupert SVENDSEN-COOK, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen +34.275s etc
Provisional results Rookie class
1 Bart HYLKEMA, T-Sport Dallara-Mugen Honda +1m 11.679s
2 Kotaro SAKURAI, Hitech Dallara-Mugen Honda 20 laps
Fastest lap Foresti 1m 28.669s / 109.29mph Record
Full TSL timesheets http://bit.ly/fwgptU
Provisional championship standings
1 Nasr 66 points; 2 Jaafar 45; 3 Foresti 38; 4 Huertas 37; 5 Will Buller 24;
6 Svendsen-Cook 22 etc
Rookie class: 1 Hylkema 55; 2 Sakurai 15.
Round 2 will feature a reversed grid of Round 1’s top 8 finishers, whilst Felipe Nasr claimed pole position for Round 3 earlier on Saturday.
The next 2 rounds of the season take place on Monday (25 April) due to the Easter festivities.