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And
the 2008 British Formula 3 Champion is ..........?
The
waiting is nearly over! On Sunday 12 October at Donington Park an
Englishman, a Spaniard and a New Zealander will battle it out to see who will
win one of motorsports most prestigious prizes and join the long and
illustrious ranks of British Formula 3 Champions.
The 2008 British F3
International Series has been one of the hardest fought championships
anywhere in the world and has certainly been too close to call.
Britain’s
Oliver Turvey has been the driver to beat for the second half of the year and
the 21-year-old’s name is now being mentioned in the same breath as
Lewis Hamilton as the next British hopeful. Like the McLaren Formula
One driver, the Racing Steps Foundation driver has had to contend with
immense pressure from a Spanish teammate and Turvey heads to the East
Midlands circuit just twelve points ahead of Jaime Alguersuari, with
forty-two still on offer in the final two races.
Alguersuari
has been one of the most consistent drivers in the series this year, having
only failed to score in three of the twenty races this year. The Red
Bull sponsored driver has already seen the view from the top of the podium on
three occasions this season, including the last race on the streets of
Bucharest, and knows he will have to repeat the performance to close the gap
to Turvey.
The
third Carlin Motorsport contender for the title is Brendon Hartley, the
second Red Bull backed driver in the line up. The New Zealander’s
speed has astounded the critics this season and he would have been closer to
the top of the leader board but for a couple of mistakes earlier in the
season. However the 18-year-old from Palmerstone North is 30-points
adrift of his rivals and knows that he will need a lot of luck if he is going
to leave Donington Park as the new champion. However rest assured the
five times race winner will be battling all the way to the final chequered
flag.
The
other driver with a mathematical possibility of lifting the title is
Mexico’s Sergio Perez. The only driver to race with the Mugen
Honda engine, Perez has been one of the revelations of the year. The
reigning British F3 National Class champion looked to be on course to add the
overall title to his collection but thanks to two non finishes in Romania,
the Telmex sponsored driver has been left with a 39 point deficit to his
rivals. Perez will be looking for a silver lining to his
particular cloud at Donington and the four times winner will be looking to
add some more silverware to his trophy cabinet.
So
who will be crowned the 2008 British F3 International Series Champion and
join the ranks of Mika Hakkinen, Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Sir Jackie
Stewart and Emerson Fittipaldi? Whoever it is will know they have won
the title in the hardest fought championship for many years and the new home
of the British Grand Prix at Donington Park is a fitting stage for these
future stars of Formula One.
The
final round of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship will also take place on
Sunday 12 October and with a combined power output of 10,000 horsepower the
25 car British GT grid of Ferraris, Vipers, Aston Martins, Lamborghinis,
Ascaris and Ginettas will proved a powerful 120-minute finale as they battle
for glory in the last race of the season. Matlock’s Guy
Harrington will be looking for a better end to a difficult season and the
2007 race winner, and co-driver Ben de Zille Butler, will be hoping to finish
the year on a high in the Team Modena Lamborghini Gallardo.
For further information visit www.britishf3international.com
or www.britishgt.com where the TV
schedule for the race coverage on Channel 4 and Motors TV can also be found.
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