Dan Clarke Triumphs in British F3 International Series at Castle Combe

27 June 2005

Dan Clarke from Raikönnen Robertson Racing won his first ever British F3 International race on Sunday morning at Castle Combe.

Clarke put in a solid performance and was in a comfortable lead throughout the race. He even remained in the front spot after the Safety car was called out to collect the debris of Adam Khans car, who crashed at the start/finish straight on lap eleven. "It was a long and nerve-wracking race," Clarke admitted afterwards. "In the opening laps I had lots of side-by-side action with Alvaro [Parente], but after that the race seemed to go on for ages as I was more or less on my own at the front. I am very pleased for the team as we have worked very hard over the weekend and it has certainly paid off."

Carlin Motorsport team-mates Alvaro Parente and Charlie Kimball were spent most of the race in second and third places. However, T-Sport's Ryan Lewis split the two in the opening laps, when he charged from fifth position up into third. But Kimball managed to fight back, regaining third position just behind his team-mate Parente.

Ryan Lewis came home in a solid fourth place for T-Sport, followed by 2004 Castle Combe winner Danny Watts (Alan Docking Racing), and Mike Conway from Fortec Motorsport.

Salvador Duran from P1 Motorsport won the race in the National Class, despite being under constant pressure by Josh Fisher (Team SWR) who was charging through the field. Duran, who started the race from pole position, saw the silver nr 40 car in his mirrors after the first lap, after Fisher, starting from sixth on the grid, had a stunning opening lap, climbing up to second.

However, Fisher attempted to pass Duran on lap 17, running wide into The Esses and losing time. He rejoined and finished the race in second. "I didn't actually get off the line that well," Fisher said about his start. "However, I did a do-or-die move around a few of the front runners and got up into second place. I tried to out-brake Salvador [Duran], but I run wide into The Esses, which cost me a lot of time. But luckily I didn't lose too much time and was still in second. It's a great result because my sponsor and family are here today."

Jonathan Kennard came third for Alan Docking Racing after a quiet race throughout. New entry Fluid Motorsport's Ben Clucas finished his first British F3 race in fourth position, just ahead of National Class leader Barton Mawer from T-Sport.

The race was red-flagged four laps before the finish due to an accident which involved Edenbridge driver Cheong Lou Meng, who lost control of his Dallara in Camp Corner and hit the tyre barrier.

SRO

See 2005 series calendar for British F3 International Series

Related Story 25.06.2005 - Kimball and Parente Take Poles in Accident-Plagued F3 Qualifying