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Hitech Dominates Donington to Extend Series Lead |
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Tuesday, 24 April 2007 |
Hitech Racing dominated the latest two rounds of the Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series at Donington Park as its Estonian driver Marko Asmer scored lights to flag victories, extending his championship lead to 34 points after just four rounds of the series.
In the first race he powered away from the rest of the field and pulled out a good lead over second placed Stephen Jelley before the safety car was called out on lap three. His team-mate, Walter Grubmüller was not so fortunate, losing two places off the line. He was then forced wide as the field turned into McLeans halfway round the opening lap, sending him across the gravel trap to rejoin in 25th place.
As the lights went green again, Marko had to contend with an early
challenge from Jelley, before he was able to pull out a comfortable
lead. At the other end of the field, Walter started to fight his way
back through the pack, taking just a handful of laps to get back up to
18th place before eventually working his way up to 14th by the time the
chequered flag fell.
In the closing stages Marko had his only real pressure of the weekend,
when he was baulked by a back marker, allowing Jelley to close right
onto the gearbox of the Dallara F307 Mercedes HWA. However, the
Buckingham-based racer was able to cover his racing line as the pair
charged up to McLeans and kept the lead for the remaining half lap to
pick up his second race win of the season.
As the cars formed on the grid for the second race a brief rain shower
made conditions tricky around various parts of the Leicestershire
circuit. However, another fantastic start allowed Asmer to dive into
the first corner with a good lead, which he extended to almost five
seconds over the course of the 30-minute race. This time, though, he
was able to scythe through the back markers in the closing stages to
take yet another race win, just missing out on maximum points by
failing to set fastest lap.
Grubmüller’s race started out well as he moved up to sixth place on the
opening lap and he looked to be in contention for a superb points
finish in only his second British F3 event. However, he was caught out
by Jelley, who tried to go round the outside of the Austrian as they
went through Craner Curves on lap four. The contact spun Walter onto
the wet grass on the outside of the circuit and straight into the tyre
wall, causing a large amount of damage to the car and ending the
rookie’s weekend prematurely.
David Hayle: “It’s been almost a perfect weekend in one way. Marko took
two wins from two pole positions and his driving when he came up
against the back-markers showed great maturity, especially in the first
race where he found himself under pressure on the last lap. We know
that we need to enjoy the result now though as it’s a long season and
we know it’s going to be incredibly tough.”
“Walter had an unfortunate two races, but his qualifying performance
was exceptional. To be just half a second away from Marko, who is
setting the pace, is fantastic and he got two great grid positions. He
was unlucky to be taken out of the second race. Unfortunately,
sometimes this happens. But, we’ll take the experience with us to the
next round and try again.”
Marko Asmer: Car #7 “It’s been an almost perfect weekend for me! The
margin of the win in both races could have been bigger, but I struggled
with the back-markers. It’s a hazard of being the first to get to the
lapped cars, but the car was great and I was able to get past easily
enough once they were aware I was there. I pushed hard for the first
few laps in the second race and once I had a lead I could relax. It’s
good to score maximum points and to move further ahead in the
championship. But, it’s still the start of the season and there is a
long way to go.”
Walter Grubmüller: Car #6 “It’s been a frustrating weekend for me. I
had two good qualifying positions and to come away from both races
without any solid results is disappointing. In the second race it was
really slippery after the rain had finished and Stephen Jelley tried to
pass me on the outside at the Craner Curves and tagged me, putting me
onto the grass and into a spin into the barriers. I’m going to take the
experience of the weekend away with me to the next round at Bucharest
and will see what I can achieve there.”
Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series
Round Three Results
1 Marko Asmer 30m33.255s
2 Stephen Jelley 30m33.800s
3 Greg Mansell 30m36.441s
4 Sebastian Hohenthal 30m38.978s
5 Jonathan Kennard 30m39.815s
6 Esteban Guerrieri 30m53.460s
14 Walter Grubmüller 31m10.574s
Fastest Lap: Asmer 1m01.594s 114.36mph
Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series
Round Four Results
1 Marko Asmer 27m55.340s
2 Niall Breen 27m59.756s
3 Jonathan Kennard 28m00.172s
4 Maro Engel 28m04.050s
5 Alberto Valerio 28m06.524s
6 Rodolfo Gonzalez 28m07.753s
DNF Walter Grubmüller
Fastest Lap: Sebastian Hohenthal 1m02.283s
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