Lando Norris won his second race of the weekend at Brands Hatch to cement his position at the top of the MSA Formula championship. After losing the lead at the start he fought back to win by 3.009 seconds.
The grid was determined by the cars second fastest time during Qualifying. This meant that Norris was on pole from James Pull in second, Matheus Leist in third and Daniel Baybutt in fourth.
A good start from Pull meant he took the lead going into turn 1, while pole sitter Norris fell to third behind Leist at Graham Hill corner. However; soon the safety car was called out, Gustavo Myasava continued his poor form during the weekend by going off at Druids and hitting the wall.
When the race restarted, Pull lead Norris, who had retaken Leist before the safety car. However; the close racing and incidents continued as there was an crash behind. Colton Herta found himself off the tarmac and was forced to pull into the pits. Also involved, Darius Karbaley and Josh Smith fell to the back as a result.
Meanwhile, Enaam Ahmed who was 5th after a good start, fell back to 8th after running wide at Graham Hill Bend. Norris, in an attempt to overtake, tapped the back of Pull into the first turn but both continued.
The safety car was brought out once again after another incident towards the back. Jack Butel spun onto the grass, retiring and creating a hazard. Smith also had to pull into the pits as a result.
At the restart there was 9 minutes to go, this meant that time was running out for Norris to challenge for the lead. However; Pull had failed to hold back during the safety car period so had to slow slightly as not to overtake it on the restart. Norris took the advantage and took the lead going into the first sector.
Sennan Fielding lost time and positions after going off, which resulted in him falling out of the top 10, but a sterling drive in the last few laps ensured he finished 10th. While a mediocre day for Tarun Reddy ended with him in the pits with a broken rear wing. Norris pulled out a large lead after his overtake, so at the line he beat Pull by 3.009 seconds.
Norris leads the championship after the first weekend, the next race will be in Thruxton on May 9th – 10th.
Brands Hatch Indy Race 3 Result
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