 FIAT Spanish Formula 3 Championship front-runner Will Bratt saw an
opportunity to claim his first career F3 race win slip from his grasp at
Spa-Francorchamps yesterday, Sunday, 1st June, but the 20-year-old still ended
the weekend third in the driver standings.
Producing the fastest time in pre-event practice on Friday, securing his
first ever F3 pole position on Saturday morning and then going on to record his
maiden category podium later in the day at the Belgian venue, hopes were very
high in the EmiliodeVillota.com Motorsport camp Will could challenge for victory
during Sunday’s fourth round.
Lining up fourth on the grid for yesterday’s encounter, Banbury-based Will
made a superb getaway to quickly climb into second position and he soon started
to pressurise race leader Bruno Mendez. Unfortunately, contact from Mendez as
Will looked to the outside into the Bus Stop Chicane resulted in the Oxon racer
being forced off the track.
He recovered in 11th position and fought back into the top nine but a
battery failure then forced Will out of the race a couple of laps from the
chequered flag.
Reflecting on the race, Will said: “I came up behind (Bruno) Mendez in the
slipstream but as he was defending the inside line I had no plans to try and
pass at that point, I just wanted to pressurise him but he jinked into me and I
bounced across the Tarmac. It dropped me to 11th and when I’d climbed back into
ninth we then had the battery failure.
“It’s possible the problem could have been caused from the contact with
Mendez but we’re not sure yet. I’m confident we would have won the race, we had
the speed and I know once in the lead I could have driven away. Over the course
of the weekend we’ve been the quickest package again so I’m very happy with that
and confident for the next rounds.”
Having led the championship following Saturday’s third round of the 2008
FIAT Spanish F3 Championship campaign, the Oxford University scholar is growing
in confidence every time he ventures onto track in his F308 Dallara and can’t
wait for the next two races, rounds five and six, which will take place at
Albacete in Spain on 28th/29th June.
Provisional 2008 FIAT Spanish F3 Championship Driver Standings
(after Rd4):
1st Bruno Mendez, 24pts; 3rd Will Bratt,
21pts
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