Thread: British F3 - Thruxton

Alguersuari and Hartley on front row

Carlin Motorsport team-mates and rivals Jaime Alguersuari and Brendon Hartley will share the front row for the first British Formula 3 race at Thruxton tomorrow.

The Red Bull-backed duo, who both retired from the opening race of the season when they collided while fighting for the lead, headed Oliver Turvey in a Carlin 1-2-3 with all three cars covered by 0.037s.

The combination of the high temperatures and the abrasive nature of the Thruxton circuit meant that most drivers completed only a handful of flying laps before returning to pits to sit out the rest of the session.

Marcus Ericsson was the only car in the top 15 still circulating in the last five minutes, but he was unable to improve his time from earlier in the session, which was good enough for fourth on the grid.

Australian John Martin produced his best showing of the season so far to qualify his Raikkonen Robertson Racing car at the head of the third row, which he will share with Sergio Perez, who lies just a point behind championship leader Alguersuari going into this weekend's rounds.

Sam Abay made it four Carlin cars in the top seven, just ahead of Michael Devaney who was the top Mygale runner in eighth. Fellow Mygale driver Nick Tandy and National Class leader Andy Meyrick completed the top 10.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap
1. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M 1:06.821
2. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M 1:06.846 +0.025
3. Oliver Turvey Carlin D/M 1:06.858 +0.037
4. Marcus Ericsson Fortec D/M 1:06.933 +0.112
5. John Martin Double R D/M 1:07.086 +0.265
6. Sergio Perez T-Sport D/H 1:07.136 +0.315
7. Sam Abay Carlin D/M 1:07.195 +0.374
8. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M 1:07.231 +0.410
9. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1:07.453 +0.632
10. Andy Meyrick Carlin (N) D/H 1:07.466 +0.645
11. Sebastian Hohenthal Fortec D/M 1:07.531 +0.710
12. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M 1:07.756 +0.935
13. Henry Arundel Double R D/M 1:07.803 +0.982
14. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 1:07.868 +1.047
15. Jay Bridger Fluid (N) D/H 1:07.896 +1.075
16. Max Chilton Hitech D/M 1:07.914 +1.093
17. Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 1:07.933 +1.112
18. Ali Jackson Double R D/M 1:08.161 +1.340
19. Stefan Wilson Fluid (N) D/H 1:08.199 +1.378
20. Philip Major Fortec D/M 1:08.219 +1.398
21. Steven Guerrero T-Sport (N) D/H 1:08.464 +1.643
22. Viktor Jensen Nexa D/H 1:08.504 +1.683
23. Salman Al-Khalifa T-Sport (N) D/H 1:08.864 +2.043
24. Kristjan Einar Carlin (N) D/H 1:08.891 +2.070
25. Hywel Lloyd CF (N) D/H 1:09.181 +2.360
26. Jordan Williams Loctite (N) D/H 1:10.409 +3.588

Hartley Charges to Second Thruxton Pole for Red Bull

Brendon Hartley improved on his front row position for Round 11 to take pole position for Round 12 of the 2008 British F3 International Series at Thruxton, the New Zealander finishing 0.035 seconds ahead of his Carlin teammate Oliver Turvey and Sweden's Marcus Ericsson. Jay Bridger secured his second National Class pole of the year after Andy Meyrick fell off the track early in the session, leaving the Welshman languishing back in 25th place.

With tyre wear still a worry to all the teams, many of the drivers elected to stay in the pitlane for the first part of the 30-minute qualifying session. Of this on track Atte Mustonen was the quickest driver with his Double R teammate John Martin in second. With five minutes of the session complete Jay Bridger put his National Class Dallara at the top of the time sheetd witha lap of 1m07.493 but it wasn't long before he was bumped by a more powerful International Class car as John Martin staked his claim to the top slot.

National Class championship leader was circulating at the head of the National Class timesheet when disaster struck and the Dallara slide off the track and became beached in a dangerous position bringing out the red flags.

The stricken Dallara was quickly cleared by the marshals and the qualifying session resumed. More cars joined in and it was Sam Abay who made the early running with a lap of 1m07.215s, but the Australian soon lost out to Sergio Perez, who went a tenth faster. The time scontinued to tumble with Mustonen becoming the first driver in the sub 1minute 07 lap but it wasn't long before he was demoted by Nick Tandy and then Brendon Hartley in quick succession.

As the session entered its final stages it was Hartley from Turvey and Ericsson at the front of the field for the start of Round 12 of the 2008 British F3 International Series, which is due to get underway at 15:40 tomorrow.

ROUND 10 QUALIFYING:

1 - 3 - INT - Brendon HARTLEY - NZL - 1m06.695
2 - 17 - INT - Oliver TURVEY - GBR - +0.035s
3 - 8 - INT - Marcus ERICSSON - SWE - +0.046s
4 - 28 - INT - Nick TANDY - GBR - +0.130s
5 - 26 - INT - Atte MUSTONEN - FIN - +0.143s
6 - 9 - INT - Sergio PEREZ - MEX - +0.153s
7 - 4 - INT - Jaime ALGUERSUARI - ESP - +0.256s
8 - 24 - INT - John MARTIN - AUS - +0.289s
9 - 7 - INT - Sebastian HOHENTHAL - SWE - +0.330s
10 - 16 - INT - Michael DEVANEY - IRL - +0.408s
11 - 18 - INT - Sam ABAY - AUS - +0.502s
12 - 6 - INT - Henry ARUNDEL - GBR - +0.558s
13 - 1 - INT - MAx CHILTON - GBR - +0.675s
14 - 14 - INT - Philip MAJOR - CAN - +0.763s
15 - 5- NAT - Jay BRIDGER - GBR - +0.798s
16 - 2 - INT - Walter GRUBMULLER - AUT - +0.858s
17 - 53 - NAT - Steven GUERRERO - COL - +1.115s
18 - 12 - INT - Ricardo TEIXEIRA - ANG - +1.115s
19 - 11 - INT - Alistair JACKSON - GBR - +1.157s
20 - 51 - NAT - Stefan WILSON - GBR - +1.266s
21 - 57 - NAT - Salman AL KHALIFA - BHR
22 - 5 - INT - Viktor JENSEN - ISL -
23 - 54 - NAT - Kristjan EINAR - ISL
24 - 52 - NAT - Hywel LLOYD - GBR
25 - 56 - NAT - Andy MEYRICK - GBR
26 - 59 - NAT - Jordan WILLIAMS - GBR

Race 1

Hartley Takes Carlin Win

1. Brendon Hartley Carlin Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes 27min 09.445secs 24 laps
2. Marcus Ericsson Fortec Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes +2.296secs
3. Oliver Turvey Carlin Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes +6.587secs
4. Sam Abay Carlin Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes +8.202secs
5. Sebastien Hohenthal Fortec Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes +13.799secs
6. Atte Mustonen Raikkonen Robertson Racing Dallara-Mercedes +15.926secs
7. Sergio Perez T-Sport Dallara-Mugen Honda +17.088secs
8. Nick Tandy JTR Marshall Westland Mygale-Mercedes +19.154secs
9. Michael Devaney Ultimate Motorsport Mygale-Mercedes +22.081secs
10. Henry Arundel Raikkonen Robertson Racing Dallara-Mercedes +26.201secs
11. Walter Grubmuller Hitech Racing Dallara-Mercedes +29.706secs
12. Andrew Meyrick Carlin Motorsport Dallara-Mugen Honda +35.122secs N
13. Jay Bridger Fluid Motorsport Dallara-Mugen Honda +35.727secs N
14. Max Chilton Hitech Racing Dallara-Mercedes +37.403secs
15. Steven Guerrero T-Sport Dallara-Mugen Honda +39.443secs N
16. Philip Major Fortec Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes +41.383secs
17. John Martin Raikkonen Robertson Racing Dallara-Mercedes +54.970secs
18. Kristijan Einar Carlin Motorsport Dallara-Mugen Honda +57.869secs N
19. Hywel Lloyd CF Racing Dallara-Mugen Honda +58.417secs N
20. Jordan Williams Team Loctite Dallara-Mugen Honda +1min 09.038secs
21. Stefan Wilson Fluid Motorsport Dallara-Mugen Honda +1min 20.046secs N
22. Viktor Jensen Nexa Racing Dallara-Mugen Honda +2 laps
23. Salman Al-Khalifa T-Sport Dallara-Mugen Honda +3 laps N

Did not finish:

24. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes 18 laps completed
25. Alistair Jackson Ultimate Motorsport Mygale-Mercedes 15 laps completed
26. Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate Motorsport Mygale-Mercedes 9 laps completed

Hartley Does The Double

Pos Driver Team Car Time
1. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M 29:29.816
2. Oliver Turvey Carlin D/M +0.430
3. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M +2.615
4. Sergio Perez T-Sport D/H +4.253
5. Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M +4.724
6. Sebastian Hohenthal Fortec D/M +5.389
7. John Martin Double R D/M +6.695
8. Henry Arundel Double R D/M +7.750
9. Sam Abay Carlin D/M +8.552
10. Philip Major Fortec D/M +9.841
11. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M +10.713
12. Max Chilton Hitech D/M +13.959
13. Steven Guerrero T-Sport (N) D/H +15.466
14. Jay Bridger Fluid (N) D/H +15.876
15. Andy Meyrick Carlin (N) D/H +17.325
16. Alistair Jackson Ultimate M/M +21.736
17. Viktor Jensen Nexa D/H +22.308
18. Kristjan Einar Carlin (N) D/H +24.451
19. Jordan Williams Loctite (N) D/H +28.592

Retirements:

Pos Driver Team Car Laps
Atte Mustonen Double R D/M 12 laps
Stefan Wilson Fluid (N) D/H 7 laps
Salman Al-Khalifa T-Sport (N) D/H 7 laps
Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 7 laps
Nick Tandy JTR M/M 2 laps
Marcus Ericsson Fortec D/M 1 lap
Hywel Lloyd CF (N) D/H 1 lap