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Dinnington based Formula 3 Euroseries team Manor Motorsport had a weekend
to forget during the fifth and sixth rounds of the 2008 season at the Pau street
circuit in the south of France – potential points finishes all going astray in
very unfortunate circumstances.
Away from its regular support slot on the DTM package, the F3 Euroseries
competed alongside the World Touring Car Championship at the prestigious and
challenging street circuit – the first time the pan-European F3 category has
raced at the Pyrenees situated venue since 2005.
Round five had two Safety Car periods after a number of accidents and
incidents took place in tricky, drying conditions – just 10 of the 30 cars which
started the race actually made it through to the chequered flag.
Kazuya Oshima was the only Manor driver to finish the race, having started
down in 28th on the grid he fought through to 10th position. Japanese countryman
Koudai Tsukakoshi was classified in 11th place, Niall Breen was 13th and Sam
Bird was forced to retire on his 18th lap after getting caught up in an accident
ahead.
Manor team boss John Booth explains: “With just a few minutes to go
everything looked rosy for us, we had three cars in the top eight and looked
good for some points. The track was drying from the start so everyone was on
slicks but off-line it was wet and a lot of drivers were caught out by that.
With only 10 cars finishing, it shows what it was like.
“Sam was taken out by two cars crashing in-front of him, Niall went off on
the bad damp patch that caught out a lot of front-runners and then Koudai had a
problem with his brakes. Kazuya did well to come through from so far down the
grid and to stay out of trouble. It was one of the most incident-packed races
I’ve ever seen.”
Round six was also badly affected by the weather and was actually started
behind the Safety Car. Beginning and finishing in 10th place, Oshima was again
Manor’s best placed runner with Bird climbing from 16th on the grid to 11th at
the chequered flag and Tsukakoshi slipping back to 18th position. Breen,
meanwhile, retired on lap 15.
Booth added: “This weekend certainly wasn’t one to remember but it was so
full of incident, it was always going to be a bit of a lottery. We’re looking
forward to the next two rounds now where we aim to be back challenging for the
podium. It’s been a tough start to the year but we’re remaining positive."
Rounds seven and eight of the 2008 Formula 3 Euroseries will take place
four weeks from now on 28th/29th June at the Norisring in Germany.
Full replays of the past weekend’s two street races at Pau will be screened
on digital satellite and cable channel Motors TV at 23.00 tomorrow, Tuesday, 3rd
June. For further details of additional showings, please check listings.
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