A clean start saw Toby Sowery jump from sixth to first in the opening lap of the second race of BRDC British F3 at Brands Hatch. He eventually built a large gap over the field, to win by almost 10 seconds.
Along with Sowery, Thomas Randle also made an excellent start from the third row. It wasn’t as advantageous as his rival though, with the Australian being boxed in and losing time. Behind the leaders, three front runners ran into trouble, with Raoul Hyman, yesterday’s race winner Matheus Leist and Colton Herta all coming into the pits after limping round the first lap.
Sowery now led after starting sixth, while pole sitter Enzo Bortoleto soon found himself under pressure from third place Tarun Reddy. The Indian eventually found a way around the outside of Hawthorns, with the Double R Racing driver managing to keep the momentum going forward ensuring he didn’t lose any further positions.
Behind the Brazilian a queue quickly formed with 11 cars soon joining the extended train. Bortoleto maintained the pressure and even managed to pull out a slight gap towards the end as he held onto a memorable fourth.
Behind him the competitors knew that a good lap time was crucial if they wanted a competitive spot on the grid for race three. This lead to seventh place Faisal Al Zubair dropping back from his challenge on Sisa Ngebulana to set a quick time. It worked, with the South African following suit.
Enaam Ahmed spent much of the race at the back after starting from the pits but made the most of the most of the clear air to set the second fastest lap and secure a front row start for race 3 alongside Herta who re-emerged from the pits to set a quick time.
Sowery had continued to build up the gap to Reddy over the course of the race and comfortably won ahead of the Indian, as Bortoleto held on to a podium place after a race long defense.
Behind them, Ricky Collard held off a late attack from Thomas Randle with both setting quick lap times. Ngebulana would finish six as Al Zubair and the resilient Thomas Maxwell rounded out the top eight.
