British F3 Brands Hatch races 16/17/18

Race One

Fortec’s Johnathan Hoggard claimed a lights to flag win on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit this afternoon (Saturday), his fifth win of the year.

Hoggard made a great start from pole to hold a one second lead and then extended that to almost three seconds mid race. Jewiss mounted a late challenge though to put pressure on the Fortec driver, and finished just 0.626 seconds behind at the chequered flag.

Championship leader Clement Novalak secured another podium with third for Carlin, with Hillspeed’s Sasakorn Chaimongkol giving him constant attention in fourth.

Chaimongkol finished just under a second clear of Carlin's Kaylen Frederick, with Manuel Maldonado sixth for Fortec. Ulysse De Pauw (Douglas), Neil Verhagen (Double R), Lucas Petersson (Carlin) and Benjamin Pedersen (Douglas) completed the top-10.

BRDC British F3 Championship, Brands Hatch GP, race one result:

1. Johnathan Hoggard, Fortec Motorsports, 14 laps
2. Kiern Jewiss, Douglas Motorsport, +0.626s
3. Clement Novalak, Carlin, +1.443s
4. Sasakorn Chaimongkol, Hillspeed, +2.914s
5. Kaylen Frederick, Carlin, +3.900s
6. Manuel Maldonado, Fortec Motorsports, +5.497s
7. Ulysse De Pauw, Douglas Motorsport, +8.769s
8. Neil Verhagen, Double R Racing, +10.008s
9. Lucas Petersson, Carlin, +10.694s
10. Benjamin Pedersen, Douglas Motorsport, +12.234s
11. Ayrton Simmons, Chris Dittmann Racing, +12.665s
12. Hampus Ericsson, Double R Racing, +15.288s
13. Josh Mason, Lanan Racing, +21.837s

RaceTwo

Chris Dittmann Racing's Nazim Azman claimed his first BRDC British F3 win in race two at Brands Hatch this morning, holding off a race-long challenge from teammate Ayrton Simmons, who secured second and completed a 1-2 finish for the team. Josh Mason claimed third for Lanan Racing after a dramatic opening lap that saw front row starters Kris Wright and Pavan Ravishankar collide at Paddock Hill Bend.

Neil Verhagen secured fourth for Double R Racing, with teammate Hampus Ericsson fifth ahead of Douglas Motorsport's Benjamin Pedersen. Pedersen's teammate Ulysse De Pauw was seventh, half a second ahead of Fortec's Manuel Maldonado, with Carlin duo Lucas Petersson and Clement Novalak completing the top-10.

Fortec's Wright started on pole, but as the lights went out was immediately challenged around the outside of Paddock Hill Bend by a fast starting Ravishankar. The pair squeezed together through the first corner, and contact saw both go off into the gravel and into retirement. That immediately promoted Azman, who started third, into the lead, while Simmons was able to slip up the inside of Ericsson in the melee to move into second. Mason meanwhile had a slow start from fourth, but took advantage of the first corner incident to move into third on the first lap.

The safety car was deployed to recover the two cars, with the race resuming on lap five. Simmons immediately set about putting pressure on his teammate, with the pair running nose to tail throughout the contest and never separated by more than four tenths. Azman crossed the line to start the last lap with just two seconds remaining on the clock, but the Malaysian held on to claim his first victory by just 0.334 seconds, with Simmons banking a decent haul of points for his championship challenge. The 1-2 finish is the first for any team this season.

Mason kept the pair in check in the early stages, but despite their battle, the Chris Dittmann Racing pair were able to extend a lead of 2.6 seconds over the Lanan driver by the end of the race, with third place being Mason's third podium of the season.

BRDC British F3 Championship, Brands Hatch GP race two amended result:

1. Nazim Azman, Chris Dittmann Racing, 13 laps
2. Ayrton Simmons, Chris Dittmann Racing, +0.334s
3. Josh Mason, Lanan Racing, +3.007s
4. Neil Verhagen, Double R Racing, +4.457s
5. Hampus Ericsson, Double R Racing, +4.618s
6. Ulysse De Pauw, Douglas Motorsport, +6.681s

Race Three

Douglas Motorsport's Kiern Jewiss took advantage of a great start to claim his first BRDC British F3 race win of the year, holding off intense pressure from Fortec's Johnathan Hoggard throughout to claim victory by less than three tenths of a second.

Polesitter Hoggard was second, with Jewiss' teammate Ulysse De Pauw claiming his second podium of the year with third place. Championship leader Clement Novalak was fourth for Carlin ahead of Kaylen Frederick, who endured race long pressure from Chris Dittmann Racing's Ayrton Simmons, who took sixth.

Double R's Neil Verhagen fended off Hillspeed's Sasakorn Chaimongkol, with Carlin's Lucas Petersson and Double R's Hampus Ericsson completing the top-10.

BRDC British F3 Championship, Brands Hatch race three result:

1. Kiern Jewiss, Douglas Motorsport, 14 laps
2. Johnathan Hoggard, Fortec Motorsports, +0.292s
3. Ulysse De Pauw, Douglas Motorsport, +1.868s
4. Clement Novalak, Carlin, +2.169s
5. Kaylen Frederick, Carlin, +5.030s
6. Ayrton Simmons, Chris Dittmann Racing, +5.320s
7. Neil Verhagen, Double R Racing, +12.801s
8. Sasakorn Chaimongkol, Hillspeed, +13.086s
9. Lucas Petersson, Carlin, +13.493s
10. Hampus Ericsson, Double R Racing, +13.775s
11. Josh Mason, Lanan Racing, +22.679s