Carlin’s Jack Harvey held off a feisty Jazeman Jaafar to take his third win of the season at a cool and windy Brands Hatch today.
The 19-year-old led from lights-to-flag, because spent the duration facing severe pressure from his Malaysian teammate.
Fortec’s Alex Lynn came home an impressive 3rd place, marginally beating Carlos Sainz Jr across the line.
Although the gap between the leading pair – rarely larger than one second – Jaafar could not find a way passed his championship rival, irrespective of how much he ducked and dived in Harvey’s mirrors.
Indeed, Harvey helped his cause with a lightning start off the line, initially shooting into the distance as Jaafar fought with Lynn in the opening corners.
First time through Druids corner, Jaafar was back ahead of Lynn and promptly closed in on Harvey, yet the Malaysian simply did not have enough to force the issue.
Jaafar continued to press, but with overtaking virtually impossible at the Kent circuit, no change was forthcoming. Not that Harvey was disappointed:
“I made a good start, but Jaz[eman] was really fast; he caught me up and put loads of pressure on. It’s pretty hard when Jazeman is on your tail; he’s a good driver. There was a lot of pressure, because if you make one mistake, he will capitalise and go on to win the race.
“His pace was really good, so we need to improve for tomorrow – with an extra ten minutes; it’s going to be even harder to hang on. For the team to have four in the top five, so I can’t argue with the pace of the car. We just need to see where we can improve our car”
After falling away from Jaafar on the opening lap, Lynn spent the duration keeping Sainz Jr at bay, but like the fight for the lead, this would remain static throughout, although their battle was slightly less fraught than the battle for the win.
Harry Tincknell held 5th from start to finish, but came under pressure from Fortec’s Felix Serralles late on. Serralles ran behind Brands Hatch surprise package Nick McBride for 19 laps; however the Puerto Rican pushed his way by the T-Sport rookie with three laps remaining,
Pietro Fantin and Pipo Derani both drove quiet races to 8th and 9th respectively, while Geoff Uhrhane stepped up to close out the top ten.
Fahmi Ilyas came home 11th and running past National Class winner Adderly Fong at the mid-point, while Spike Goddard assume 13th.
Duvashen Padayachee suffered a spin entering the final corner of the race, while Hannes van Asseldonk added to the misery when he spun on lap seventeen.
2012 British F3 Rd of Brands Hatch (Round 5, Race 1)
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW 28m54.308s
2. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW + 0.527s
3. Alex Lynn Fortec Dallara-Merc + 11.917s
4. Carlos Sainz Jr Carlin Dallara-VW + 12.175s
5. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW + 23.108s
6. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc + 24.584s
7. Nick McBride T-Sport Dallara-Nissan + 28.724s
8. Pietro Fantin Carlin Dallara-VW + 34.494s
9. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc + 38.207s
10. Geoff Uhrhane Double R Dallara-Mugen + 41.193s
11. Fahmi Ilyas Double R Dallara-Merc + 49.427s
12. Adderly Fong CF Dallara-Mugen* + 1m03.551s
13. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Mugen* + 1m13.194s
Retirements:
Duvashen Padayachee Double R Dallara-Mugen* 21 laps
Hannes van Asseldonk Fortec Dallara-Merc 17 laps
2012 British F3 Round of Brands Hatch (Rd 5, Race 1) International Class Pos Driver Points 1. Jazeman Jaafar 153 2. Jack Harvey 144 3. Carlos Sainz Jr 127 4. ALex Lynn 110 5. Felix Serralles 107 6. Harry Tincknell 80 7. Pietro Fantin 75 8. Pipo Derani 72 9. Hannes van Asseldonk 52 10. Nick McBride 34 National Class Pos Driver Points 1. Spike Goddard 191 2. Duvashen Paayachee 160 3. Adderly Fong 21
