Menasheh Idafar‘s weekend at Oulton Park for Rounds 4-6 of the 2011 British Formula 3 Championship got off to an unfortunate start as the T-Sport driver unexpectedly lost control of his Dallara-Mercedes whilst running 2nd place.
The British-born Bahraini went into Round 4 of the season with some promising speed shown in practice and qualifying earlier that day. Starting on the second row for the first race, and thanks to a great start, Idafar quickly snatched 2nd place away from championship leader Felipe Nasr at the first corner. The 2010 British F3 National Class champion gradually began to pull away from Nasr and settled into a fast groove – setting his fastest time on Lap 7. After an already career-best qualifying position, he looked set for another F3 career-best finish of 2nd place. However, through the very same corner the youngster gained 2nd place, he lost control and quickly found himself in the barriers and out of the race.
Despite some natural frustration, Idafar found positives to take away from Round 4: “Obviously I'm really disappointed”, he said, “But we have to be happy with how strong we were in qualifying and how quick we were in the race too. Everything felt great, I was pushing really hard but it was ok. I felt the back end of the car just come round without any warning and that was it, I was in the barrier! It's a shame for me and the team but we showed how quick we can be.” A no-points score also leaves Idafar 12th in the championship, though his pace during the race certainly suggests he can find points in the next few rounds.
Easter celebrations on Sunday means that Rounds 5 and 6 will take place on Monday 25 April. Round 5 is scheduled to begin at 10.00 with Round 6 expected to follow at 14.35.