2011 British F3 Rd of Spa-Francorchamps (Rd 7, Qualifying, July 29th)

Spa-Francorchamps © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger

Qualifying for today’s British Formula 3 race at Spa-Francorchamps was dominated by F3 International Trophy competitors.

Invitational runners – all full time pilots in the F3 Euroseries – notched up the first four places on the grid, with Spain’s Roberto Mehri leading the charge.

The Prema Powerteam driver registered a best lap of 2:17.438 late in the running – a full one second quicker than former British F3 Champion, Marko Asmer.
Signature Motorsport drivers Marco Wittmann and Carlos Munoz filled out the second row, ahead of leading British F3 competitors, William Buller and Lucas Foresti, albeit over 2 seconds shy of pole.

Changeable conditions aided Mehri’s advantage to a degree. Having started in damp conditions, the circuit dried in the final minutes of qualifying, with the Spaniard taking the point as the chequered flag emerged.

It was a dreadful session for British F3 Championship leader Felipe Nasr. The Brazilian placed his Volkswagen-powered Carlin 20th for race three, having notched up an eighth row start for the opening race of the weekend.

Several drivers were caught out by the wet conditions, including Harry Tincknell, who had an off on his second lap and will start last for both races.
A red flag late in qualifying for a spun Menasheh Idafar, also had the effect of shortening the session.

British F3 Round of Spa-Francorchamps (Race one grid):
Pos Driver Team Car
 1.  Roberto Merhi         Prema           Dallara-Merc
 2.  Lucas Foresti         Fortec          Dallara-Merc
 3.  William Buller        Fortec          Dallara-Merc
 4.  Marco Wittmann        Signature       Dallara-VW
 5.  Carlos Munoz          Signature       Dallara-VW
 6.  Hywel Lloyd           Sino Vision     Dallara-Merc
 7.  Jack Harvey           Carlin          Dallara-VW
 8.  Bart Hylkema          T-Sport         Dallara-VW
 9.  Jazeman Jaafar        Carlin          Dallara-VW
10.  Felipe Nasr           Carlin          Dallara-VW
11.  Rupert Svendsen-Cook  Carlin          Dallara-VW
12.  Yann Cunha            T-Sport         Dallara-VW
13.  Scott Pye             Double R        Dallara-Merc
14.  Daniel Juncadella     Prema           Dallara-Merc
15.  Hannes van Asseldonk  Van Amersfoort  Dallara-VW
16.  Adderly Fong          Sino Vision     Dallara-Merc
17.  Kevin Magnussen       Carlin          Dallara-VW
18.  Marko Asmer           Double R        Dallara-Merc
19.  Fahmi Ilyas           Fortec          Dallara-Merc
20.  Laurens Vanthoor      Signature       Dallara-VW
21.  Daniel Abt            Signature       Dallara-VW
22.  Pipo Derani           Double R        Dallara-Merc
23.  Raffaelle Marciello   Prema           Dallara-Merc
24.  Kotaro Sakurai        Hitech          Dallara-Mugen
25.  Carlos Huertas        Carlin          Dallara-VW
26.  Pietro Fantin         Hitech          Dallara-VW
27.  Menasheh Idafar       T-Sport         Dallara-VW
28.  Harry Tincknell       Fortec          Dallara-Merc
*Times for race one grid not available at time of publishing.

British F3 Round of Spa-Francorchamps (Race three grid):
Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap
 1.  Roberto Merhi         Prema           Dallara-Merc   2m17.438s
 2.  Marko Asmer           Double R        Dallara-Merc   2m18.502s  + 1.064s
 3.  Marco Wittmann        Signature       Dallara-VW     2m18.800s  + 1.362s
 4.  Carlos Munoz          Signature       Dallara-VW     2m19.289s  + 1.851s
 5.  William Buller        Fortec          Dallara-Merc   2m19.692s  + 2.254s
 6.  Lucas Foresti         Fortec          Dallara-Merc   2m19.993s  + 2.555s
 7.  Raffaelle Marciello   Prema           Dallara-Merc   2m20.249s  + 2.811s
 8.  Pipo Derani           Double R        Dallara-Merc   2m21.253s  + 3.815s
 9.  Laurens Vanthoor      Signature       Dallara-VW     2m21.398s  + 3.960s
10.  Hywel Lloyd           Sino Vision     Dallara-Merc   2m22.582s  + 5.144s
11.  Carlos Huertas        Carlin          Dallara-VW     2m22.741s  + 5.303s
12.  Jack Harvey           Carlin          Dallara-VW     2m25.510s  + 8.072s
13.  Adderly Fong          Sino Vision     Dallara-Merc   2m26.398s  + 8.960s
14.  Bart Hylkema          T-Sport         Dallara-VW     2m26.889s  + 9.451s
15.  Jazeman Jaafar        Carlin          Dallara-VW     2m27.133s  + 9.695s
16.  Kevin Magnussen       Carlin          Dallara-VW     2m27.315s  + 9.877s
17.  Yann Cunha            T-Sport         Dallara-VW     2m27.347s  + 9.909s
18.  Hannes van Asseldonk  Van Amersfoort  Dallara-VW     2m27.517s  + 10.079s
19.  Scott Pye             Double R        Dallara-Merc   2m27.767s  + 10.329s
20.  Felipe Nasr           Carlin          Dallara-VW     2m28.254s  + 10.816s
21.  Rupert Svendsen-Cook  Carlin          Dallara-VW     2m28.942s  + 11.504s
22.  Daniel Juncadella     Prema           Dallara-Merc   2m29.496s  + 12.058s
23.  Fahmi Ilyas           Fortec          Dallara-Merc   2m29.578s  + 12.140s
24.  Kotaro Sakurai        Hitech          Dallara-Mugen  2m30.009s  + 12.571s
25.  Daniel Abt            Signature       Dallara-VW     2m30.229s  + 12.791s
26.  Pietro Fantin         Hitech          Dallara-VW     2m33.004s  + 15.566s
27.  Menasheh Idafar       T-Sport         Dallara-VW     2m36.104s  + 18.666s
28.  Harry Tincknell       Fortec          Dallara-Merc   2m38.252s  + 20.814s

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