Jack Harvey decisively took both pole positions for the final British Formula 3 round of the season at Donington.
It marks another turn in what has been a good week for the Lincolnshire driver, who Wednesday had his race 2 penalty from Silverstone overturned*.
At just 6 points behind series leader and Carlin teammate Jazeman Jaafar, Harvey is now well placed to overhaul his Malaysian rival.
Jaafar has provisionally assumed 3rd on the grid, one spot ahead of the man currently 2nd in points, Felix Serralles.
Fortec’s Alex Lynn splits the championship trio, after qualifying alongside Harvey on the front row.
Harvey held the top spot for much of the session, although it was two laps in the latter third of qualifying that sealed the deal.
With eight minutes left on the clock, the Carlin racer logged his first “pole” lap, setting 1:22.663, only for both Lynn and Jaafar to come within 0.012 seconds of the time.
Harvey went quicker still moments later with 1:22.590; however neither Lynn nor Jaafar could close in on the poleman.
“The balance felt quite good, although I had to dig a bit deeper when every got a bit close. My engineer and I have a code, where if he says it’s quite close, it’s probably hundredths, so he comes on the radio just as I was about to start my fastest lap and says “yeah, it’s really close, so if there’s anything left give it everything” and I guess that means I have to find a bit more.
“We tested here last week and felt quite confident coming here and I think with the appeal we gained some momentum as well. It was important to have a good weekend here anyway, regardless of what’s at stake, so I can bounce back from Silverstone in a positive way.”
Pietro Fantin and Harry Tincknell made it an all-Carlin third row, ahead of a Fortec dominated fourth row (Hannes van Asseldonk and Pipo Derani).
T-Sport’s Nick McBride out-qualified Double R Rupert Svendsen-Cook, while Geoff Uhrhane lines up 11th, the last of the International Class runners.
Formula 3 returnee Hywel Lloyd topped the National Class group, with Richard ‘Spike’ Goddard, Pedro Pablo Calbimonte and Duvashen Padayachee completing the field.
For race one, Harvey will lead Jaafar, Serralles and Lynn away. Fantin heads van Asseldonk and Derani, while Tincknell drops to 8th.
* {note 1}
The MSA upheld Harvey’s appeal against the penalty applied against him at Silverstone three weeks ago. The initial 20- second penalty for clashing with Pipo Derani in race 2, was declared to have been too hard and was adjudged by the panel to be a racing incident.
It reinstated Harvey to 2nd in the race, bringing him back into the championship fight, just six points behind Jaafar and three adrift of Serralles.
2012 British F3 Round of Donington (Rd 10, Race 1 grid) Pos Driver Team Time 1. Jack Harvey Carlin-Volkswagen 1:22.663 2. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin-Volkswagen 1:22.717 3. Felix Serralles Fortec-Mercedes 1:22.812 4. Alex Lynn Fortec-Mercedes 1:22.901 5. Pietro Fantin Carlin-Volskwagen 1:22.947 6. Hannes van Asseldonk Fortec-Mercedes 1:23.087 7. Pipo Derani Fortec-Mercedes 1:23.442 8. Harry Tincknell Carlin-Volkswagen 1:23.660 9. Nick McBride T-Sport-ThreeBond Nissan 1:23.882 10. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Double R-Mercedes 1:24.132 11. Geoff Uhrhane Double R-Mercedes 1:24.456 12. Hywel Lloyd CF Racing-Mugen Honda 1:25.116 13. Spike Goddard T-Sport-Mugen Honda 1:25.460 14. Pedro Pablo Calbimonte T-Sport-Mugen Honda 1:25.967 15. Duvashen Padayachee Double R-Mugen Honda 1:27.233 2012 British F3 Round of Donington (Rd 10, Race 3 grid) Pos Driver Team Time 1. Jack Harvey Carlin-Volkswagen 1:22.590 2. Alex Lynn Fortec-Mercedes 1:22.675 3. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin-Volkswagen 1:22.680 4. Felix Serralles Fortec-Mercedes 1:22.796 5. Pietro Fantin Carlin-Volskwagen 1:22.865 6. Harry Tincknell Carlin-Volkswagen 1:23.024 7. Hannes van Asseldonk Fortec-Mercedes 1:23.082 8. Pipo Derani Fortec-Mercedes 1:23.387 9. Nick McBride T-Sport ThreeBond Nissan 1:23.658 10. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Double R-Mercedes 1:24.052 11. Geoff Uhrhane Double R-Mercedes 1:24.053 12. Hywel Lloyd CF Racing-Mugen Honda 1:24.830 13. Spike Goddard T-Sport-Mugen Honda 1:25.039 14. Pedro Pablo Calbimonte T-Sport-Mugen Honda 1:25.780 15. Duvashen Padayachee Double R-Mugen Honda 1:26.785
