Ben Barnicoat secured his second victory in as many races as he took the spoils in the opening race of the FIA European Formula 3 Championship weekend around the streets of Pau on Saturday.
The Hitech GP driver added to his victory from the Hungaroring last time out, controlling the race from the front after pole sitter Lance Stroll made a dreadful start, dropping out of contention for the race win and ultimately being forced to settle for a position in the lower reaches of the top ten.
Barnicoat had already inherited a front row start after both George Russell and Nick Cassidy took grid penalties, with Russell dropping to sixth and Cassidy third as a result.
Despite a safety car intervention to clear the crashed Carlin car of Zhi Cong Li at the end of lap seven, Barnicoat was never troubled throughout the race, which was held throughout in wet conditions, and he ended the race 2.489s clear of Prema Powerteam’s Cassidy.
Maximilian Günther ended the race with the final podium position, having lost second after the restart to Cassidy who made a brave move around the kink by the pits to move ahead of his team-mate.
Russell took fourth for Hitech GP ahead of fellow Briton Callum Ilott of Van Amersfoort Racing, while Mikkel Jensen of Mücke Motorsport held off the challenge of Carlin driver Ryan Tveter to take sixth.
Another strong defensive drive came from Motopark’s Sergio Sette Camara, who held off the challenge of the delayed pole sitter Stroll to take eighth, while Alessio Lorandi had a relatively quiet race to take tenth and the final point for Carlin.
Pau Race 1 Result
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