Felipe Nasr: 2011 British F3 Champion.

Rockingham saw the 2011 Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series Champion crowned. Felipe Nasr followed in the footsteps of Brazilian icons such as Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna as he became the twelfth Brazilian driver to win the British F3 title, a crown which is considered as one of the most prestigious in world Motorsport.

Nasr secured the crown with six rounds of the season left and at Rockingham; he recorded his fifteenth and sixteenth podiums in just twenty four races, proving his ability and potential throughout the season in the Carlin-Volkswagen car.

Since the last round at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, Nasr has celebrated his nineteenth birthday and the pace setter in the Championship described winning the British Formula 3 crown as a “unique feeling”: “It’s a unique feeling for sure”, said the new champion, “It really is amazing, I don’t think I quite understand what it all means yet! There has been a lot of hard work behind this, taking the title so early shows we worked harder than the others and we deserve it – everyone from the team, my family and everyone that has helped us. I’m really, really happy.”

For Nasr, winning the British Formula 3 International Series crown is of great importance as many of his fellow Brazilian counterparts have gone on to establish themselves with great racing careers after securing the British F3 crown.

As the twelfth Brazilian Champion of British Formula 3, he follows in the likes of Nelson Piquet, current Williams Formula 1 driver Rubens Barrichello and the late Ayrton Senna. As well as following in the wheel tracks of the Brazilian racing legends, his success in 2011 has seen Carlin secure their fourth drivers’ title in succession.

2008 Champion Jaime Alguersuari and 2009 Champion Daniel Ricciardo have both progressed into Formula 1 while the 2010 Champion, Jean-Eric Vergne is on the verge of breaking into F1.

He could be forgiven for calling time on the season now he has the title, but Nasr is hoping to add to his tally of seven race wins during the final two race weekend’s of the season, at Donington Park in the East Midlands later this month and at Silverstone, Northamptonshire in October.

“It’s great to put my name with the others from Brazil”, he added, “That is a really special feeling and it means a lot to me and is big for my career too. We’ve won the championship but we’re still going to do the next races – we want more wins so that’s what I’m going out there to do.”

Unsurprisingly, Nasr started off the eighth race weekend of the season on the front foot and in qualifying; he secured himself a front row start for rounds twenty two and twenty four.

He was odds on to secure the victory during Saturday’s opening race but his dominant run was brought to an early end after the race officials awarded him a drive through penalty for not respecting track limits at turn eight – this dropped him down the order but he recovered to finish sixth. He also secured the races fastest lap – a 1m13.322s.

Starting from third in Sunday Morning’s wet opening encounter, the Champion Elect produced another great, Champion like drive as he moved into second early on and he then looked to challenge for the victory. Setting the fastest lap once again, his challenge was curtailed by a slow, right rear puncture and he nursed the Carlin car home second.

Heading into the final race of the weekend, Nasr knew he could secure the title with another strong result and he produced the strong result in similar conditions to those in the opening race.

Round twenty four saw the Safety car play its part twice. Nasr was able to hold second place for over half the race distance but a small mistake up at Deene on the fourteenth lap cost him second. He then settled for third, which was enough to give him the 2011 Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series title.

Next up for the newly crowned Champion is a trip to Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit for rounds twenty five, twenty six and twenty seven over the 24/25 September.

Honda Hit the Top at Knockhill.

Honda Racing have moved back to the top of the 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship Drivers’ Standings after their Scottish star, Gordon Shedden, secured a third and a win during the first two races at Knockhill, before adding a fighting fifth in the third race of the weekend.

Shedden, who is the commercial manager of the Fife circuit, overturned an eight point deficit to Mat Jackson to lead the series away from Knockhill, by a single point from Honda Racing team-mate, Matt Neal.

‘Flash’ said after the weekend that it was mission accomplished to have overturned the deficit as he seized the Championship Advantage as the series heads south.

“I knew it would be crucial to get at least 30 points over the course of the three races at Knockhill, and the results went better than I could have expected. I scored 32, and I was able to win a round in front of my home fans which is always special.”

The thirty one year old said that the key strength of the team’s Honda Civic was the way it handled around the twisty, tight 1.3 Hillside circuit. The performance at Knockhill has given him optimism for the remaining nine races of the season.

“We knew we had to exploit our chassis at Knockhill, and that is exactly what has helped us here,” said Flash. “Some of the other cars have big turbochargers and were able to have an advantage on the straights, but our car came into its own in the corners. It shows what a great package we have with the Civic.”

Team-mate Matt Neal also got his Championship challenge back on track after a disappointing trip to Snetterton last time out. He recorded a brace of seconds and a fourth in the three races despite driving through the pain barrier.

Neal, the 2005 and 2006 BTCC Champion fractured a bone during a martial arts exam during the run up to Knockhill and he was racing with his right hand strapped up during the on track action.

“It’s funny, it didn’t hurt all the while I was racing but it is starting to ache now the adrenaline is wearing off,” said the 44-year-old. “We have had some amazing results this weekend and once again we have shown that the Honda is the best all-round package in the series.

“To bounce back from the last meeting at Snetterton, where I had two non-scores, was vital in terms of the title run in. It is going to be a fight between myself and Gordon now for the rest of the season, but we aren’t going to take our eye off the ball. There are so many competitive people in this championship and some really strong cars out there that we will keep having to push until the end of the season.”

Rounds twenty two, twenty three and twenty four of the 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Champion take place at the Rockingham Motor Speedway, near Corby over the 17/18 September, where Shedden, Neal and the Honda Racing team will aim to extend their advantage in the Drivers’, Manufacturers/Constructors’ and Teams’ Championship.

Nasr Crowned as Magnussen and Pye Share Rockingham Victories.

Felipe Nasr has secured the 2011 Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series crown at Rockingham and in the process, has become the twelfth Brazilian driver to have done so. For his Carlin team, it is their fourth British Formula 3 drivers’ title on the bounce.

A controlled drive during the final race of the weekend at Rockingham brought Nasr the title as he finished on the podium, behind fellow Carlin racer Kevin Magnussen and race one winner, Hitech’s Pietro Fantin. Nasr’s smile on the podium, however, told the whole story.

“It’s great,” said Nasr. “I still don’t quite get what it means… This feels like the end of a normal race for me! And yet I feel very happy. Grabbing the title early on here is just amazing. It’s been a lot of work, a lot of dedication from the team, and it’s very special.

“I know that many big names came from British Formula 3 and I am sure that I have done this step really well and now things are just going to get better for me. I think the best moment of the year for me was Monza, when I won two races. I will never forget that weekend; it was the best feeling ever.”

Nasr has followed in the footsteps of Jaime Alguersuari (2008), Daniel Ricciardo (2009) and Jean-Eric Vergne (2010) – both Alguersuari and Ricciardo are now racing in Formula 1 while Vergne is on the verge of having a career in Formula 1.

With six races left to run and the title decided – Nasr has fired a clear warning to him rivals: “Now I will be taking risks and going for the wins…”

It almost all went wrong for Nasr as he spun coming to the grid. After heavy rain from earlier in the day, the track was treacherous and the lack of grip didn’t help. Thankfully for Nasr, his spin didn’t damage the car.

For Magnussen, son of 1994 British F3 Champion Jan, he was in superior form as he overhauled Pole Man Fantin off the line and into the lead, which he never looked like losing despite the pressure from Fantin behind. Saturday’s race winner finished just 0.7s behind Magnussen at the line and his efforts saw him rewarded with the Sunoco Driver of the Weekend award.

Magnussen survived two Safety Car periods as the track conditions caught other drivers out, as they slid off into the gravel traps as well as themselves. “It was a tough race,” said Kevin. “There were two safety cars and I had pressure from Pietro all the race; he did a good job keeping me under pressure. It was all about not making any mistakes.”

The result has seen Magnussen move up to second in the standings while moving up to third overall is Fortec Motorsport’s Will Buller, ahead of Carlin’s Carlos Huertas who didn’t finish the Rockingham finale. He produced another strong run from a midfield grid slot to run fifth after the opening lap and he secured fourth from Jazeman Jaafar after the first Safety Car period. Jaafar finished fifth ahead of Carlin team-mate Jack Harvey.

Seventh went the way of Scott Pye and the Double R Team, ahead of Devon’s Harry Tincknell, Dutchman Bart Hylkema in the T-Sport car and Fahmi Ilyas, the third out of four Fortec Motorsport cars. The rookie class honours went the way of Japanese runner Kotaru Sakurai.

Round Twenty Three: Pye Splashes to Victory.

Scott Pye secured his maiden Cooper Tires British Formula 3 Victory earlier on Sunday after leading from lights to flag in the twenty minute Sprint race.

Pye produced a copybook drive in the wet conditions as his wet track knowledge left him in good stead – he had raced at Rockingham in the wet during his 2010 Formula Ford Championship winning season.

The Northamptonshire speedway had been left streaming wet after pre-race rain. Pye made the perfect start as he saw off the attentions of Kevin Magnussen through the banking at turn one and ensured he was first as the field went through Deene, the second corner.

By the end of the opening lap, Pye had opened up an advantage of 1.9s which had become eight seconds by the mid way point of the race. Felipe Nasr, the Champion Elect had by this point inherited second after team-mate Magnussen had slid down to fourth.

Pye secured his maiden British F3 win with a winning margin of 10.2s. “It was all about the start,” said Scott. “With the spray and the rain it was going to be difficult to overtake. Kevin and I made very similar starts but I led into turn one and commanded the race from there. After that it was just a case of keeping my head down. I knew that we were quick in the wet and though there was a lot of pressure with Kevin and Felipe behind me I kept my head down and drove away.”

Once into second, Nasr was happy to settle for the points and he secured an extra two points after setting the races fastest lap on lap eleven.

“Scott was way too far ahead of me to catch,” said Felipe, “I was happy to maintain my pace and get the points. I was struggling to find grip early on; once I had some heat in them it was not so bad.”

One of the highlights of the race was the squabble for the final step on the podium. Jazeman Jaafar had been looking certain for the podium until the final chicane, where he was jumped by Magnussen, on a recovery drive and Will Buller – the Ulsterman had enjoyed a stunning first lap to charge up the field and into seventh. From there on, he picked off those ahead of him to finish fourth.

Post race, Magnussen was penalised for jumping the chicane and was given a three second time penalty. This promoted Buller to third, Jaafer to fourth and Magnussen down to fifth.

Carlos Huertas finished sixth, ahead of Menasheh Idafar, Pipo Derani, Hywel Lloyd and Rupert Svendsen-Cook, while Kotaro Sakurai won the rookie class despite a last lap spin. He led home Luca Orlandi in the Team West-Tec car.

Nash Closes In on Independents Lead.

James Nash closed in on the Independents’ Drivers Trophy lead during rounds nineteen, twenty and twenty-one of the 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Knockhill, Fife but it could have been even better had it not been for an accident during the third race of the day.

With nine racers left of the season, Nash is still in contention for the title as he lies fifth, but has a forty seven point deficit to new series leader, Gordon Shedden.

The trip to Fife for Triple Eight Race Engineering with Collins Contractors can be divided into three segments: the double points race one, the one points finish race two and the expensive no points finish in the third race.

Race one of the weekend saw Nash started from twelfth on the grid after qualifying. He produced a fighting, feisty drive to recover sixth at the flag, while in race two; he made a bad start and dropped back down the order before recovering to finish eighth.

The final race of the weekend was the disappointment for Nash – as he was caught up in the carnage at the Hairpin just as the race was about to go live once again.  He was collected by his team-mate and after a visit to the pits for emergency repairs; Nash finished fifteenth but afterwards, was extremely critical of the driving of Boardman.

“What can I say? The incident that ruined both mine and Aron’s third race is on camera and the facts self-evident. I know that if a similar incident happened on an indoor go-kart track the culprit pulling the stunt would be immediately shown the black flag and disqualified,” said an incensed Nash.

He then added about the rest of his weekend: “We have though to take the positives. The car ran well and we bagged good points, particularly in the first race. My main rival for the Independent’s award Mat Jackson fared worse than me today and so we managed to pull back his lead in the Championship to just 5 points. Rockingham in two week’s time is next up and with better luck we should go well there.”

For team-mate and BTCC debutant, Aron Smith, his weekend was a baptism of fire. Having qualified down in fifteenth, he produced a drive which defied his lack of BTCC experience to secure the final point during the opening race.

His weekend then went downhill and he struggled with the uphill start at Knockhill and lost positions and ended race two down in a disappointing thirteenth, before seeing his third race ended prematurely at the Hairpin under the Safety car.

The whole field had slowed right down and Smith came in and collided with the back of team-mate Nash’s Vectra. This ended his race on the spot and called for a second Safety Car period.

Smith was pleased to score a point on his BTCC debut but has questioned what Boardman was doing under the Safety Car: “I was very happy to score points in my first-ever touring car race. Race two wasn’t too bad either. I lost a place at the start and a couple very late on but nevertheless I was looking forward to race three.

“Unfortunately it wasn’t to be. Under the Safety Car Boardman caused a huge crash behind him. He just took off on the final straight and then suddenly slammed on the brakes. I had nowhere to go. I have no idea what he thought he was doing.”

Ian Harrison was also critical of Boardman as the incident at the hairpin has caused some quite extensive damage to both the team’s Vectras.

Harrison said: “It was a good day really up until the incident behind the Safety Car in race three. Both of our drivers drove well and I was impressed with Aron who of course was making his debut.

“Regarding the incident it is obvious that Boardman hasn’t read the (Championship) regulations and doesn’t understand how it (Safety Car) all works. He ran out of talent faster than his car allows him to go. Unfortunately, we’ve now got thousands of pounds worth of damage to our cars to prove it.”

Haryanto Secures Maiden Auto GP Victory.

The second race at Valencia for Auto GP has crowned a new race winner in the short history of the series; GP3 race winner Rio Haryanto secured the victory at the wheel of his Dams car to record a dominant victory. The Indonesian driver has already graced the podium, at Brno in the Czech Republic and the Spanish victory continued to show his upwards improvements during the season.

Lining up third on the grid after Saturday’s opening race, where he finished sixth, Haryanto made a quick start and moved straight into second place, ahead of Samuele Buttarelli in the TP Formula car and slotted into second behind Pole Sitter Adam Carroll in his Campos Racing car.

Haryanto showed that he was quicker than Carroll and very quickly, he got onto the tail of the British driver and started to put him under pressure. Carroll tried to keep the rapid Indonesian driver behind him but on the fifth lap, he left a gap at turn two which Haryanto slipped into and completed the pass. From there on, he drove away and to put the icing on the cake, he set the races fastest lap on lap six.

A delighted Haryanto said about his win after the race: “I’m really happy of this first Auto GP win. I got very close to that in Brno and then it faded away, so today when I saw the chance I did all I could to take it. I had a great start and I managed to pass Buttarelli, and from then on I knew that the only chance I had was putting pressure on Adam, hoping for a mistake or for some room in a corner sooner or later. I also knew that it had to happen early in the race because then tyre wear would have made things more difficult. Luckily the ‘plan’ came together quite early, and from then on things were easier as my pace was really good. I want to say thanks to DAMS, they did a great job.”

Behind the Asian driver, Carroll was busy keeping his eyes on his mirrors as Buttarelli was closing up on him rather fast. He was visibly quicker than Carroll and he sat on his tail for the rest of the race duration and on occasions, showed his nose but never really developed a proper overtaking opportunity.

Ultimately, Carroll resisted the attacks and led Buttarelli home, with a gap of 0.8s between the two of them at the chequered flag. Their teams, Campos Racing and TP Formula were able to celebrate their fifth and fourth podiums of the season respectively.

Second place finisher Carroll said afterwards: “My start was really good, and for a while I thought that the win was in my reach. Then, already on lap two, I realized that Rio was much quicker than me and that keeping him behind would have been tough. Then he passed me and flew away, after some changes we did on the set-up I just didn’t have the pace to follow him. My next task was keeping Buttarelli at bay and again it wasn’t easy, because on a track like this it’s easy to overdrive if the car is not doing what you’re expecting. Anyway I did it, and clinching a podium finish in my team’s home race feels really good.”

Buttarelli, the third place finisher said after the race: “It was a tough race as I pushed from flag to flag. I didn’t have a good start and Haryanto passed me, but I wanted to get my second place back so I sticked to Carroll’s tail very early into the race. I tried all I could, but Adam was really good at defending his lines and on the other side I was losing a lot of downforce everytime I got close to him, stressing my front tyres too much. It’s a pity because my pace was quicker than his, even if I have to say that getting Rio would have been difficult today. Anyway I can be happy with this third pace; it’s a good result considering that I started my weekend with that penalty from Oschersleben.”

Coming home fourth was Adrien Tambay in the second Campos Racing car – this gave team owner Adrian Campos reason to celebrate in his teams’ home race – after making a bad start, he was able to retain fourth and spent the whole race defending it from Fabrizio Crestani and Fabio Onidi.

The two Lazarus drivers looked quicker than Tambay but were never able to make their move to gain a position as the Valencia track doesn’t offer many overtaking opportunities. Onidi, however, was able to complete a great move on Adrian Campos Jnr on lap nine at the final corner with an outbraking manoeuvre.

Coming home seventh was GP2 vice Champion contender Luca Filippi. The Italian had started down in twelfth but moved up to P7 quickly, thanks in part to a great start while Kevin Ceccon stretched his Championship advantage after coming home eighth and securing the final Championship point. Ceccon has also wrapped up the Under 21 Championship, having opened up a big enough margin over Giovanni Venturini. The reward for this success is a free GP2 test, while he has to wait until the visit to the Tuscan circuit of Mugello to find out his overall drivers’ Championship position.

Dams secured a double race win in Valencia, as their drivers Haryanto and Afanasiev recorded twenty nine and twenty six points respectively. This means that Haryanto receives 60,000E prize money and Afanasiev 25,000E while Onidi leaves Spain with 15,000E for his twenty two points.

Auto GP, Valencia Race 2 Results:

Position	Driver	Team
1	Rio Haryanto	Dams
2	Adam Carroll	Campos Racing
3	Samuele Buttarelli	TP Formula
4	Adrien Tambey	Campos Racing
5	Fabrizio Crestani	Lazarus
6	Fabio Onidi	Lazarus
7	Luca Filippi	Super Nova Racing
8	Kevin Ceccon	Ombra Racing
9	Giovanni Venturini	Griffitz Durango
10	Pasquale Di Sabatino	TP Formula
11	Daniel De Jong	MP Motorsport
12	Giuseppe Cipriani	Griffitz Durango
13	Francesco Dracone	Ombra Racing
14	Sergei Afansiev	Dams
15	Adrian Campos-Jnr	Campos Racing