Smith takes sixth in home event

Dean Smith took a sixth place finish this afternoon in the first GP3 race of the weekend at Silverstone. Smith's sixth place was the best finish for the Carlin team, as Josef Newgarden came home in 16th place, with Lucas Foresti 18th. Smith's sixth place finish earned him three championship points and means he will start race two tomorrow from third place on the grid.

Dean Smith, (GBR, Carlin) leads Daniel Morad, (CAN, Status Grand Prix). Credit: Jakob Ebrey/GP3 Media

Starting from ninth on the grid this afternoon, Smith immediately made up one position, as James Jakes stalled ahead of him. Both Newgarden and Foresti maintained their positions having avoided any first lap incidents.

By lap four Smith had climbed to seventh place while Newgarden was 18th. The young American found himself in a close battle on lap six however, as he was pushed wide by Miki Monras. Newgarden managed to recover, but dropped to 21st. As the race entered the final stages, the tension mounted with various drivers clashing on track. Both Newgarden and Foresti managed to steer clear of any drama, with Newgarden climbing to 16th and Foresti 18th.

At the front, Smith had made up one final place and was lying sixth and closing in on fifth place man Alexander Rossi. However, with only one lap remaining Smith ran out of time and had to settle for sixth place. Newgarden meanwhile saw his race continue to the chequered flag, with a last minute attack from Simon Trummer. The 19 year-old defended well however and held onto 16th, with team mate Foresti crossing the line behind him in 18th place, having made up eight places from his starting position.

With the drivers starting race two tomorrow in the positions they finished race one today - with the exception of the top eight which are revered - Smith will start third, with Newgarden 16th and Foresti 18th.

Reflecting on his race, Smith said, "I had a good start, obviously I made up one place straight away when Jakes stalled. I had a pretty uneventful race from there really; I started to close on Rossi towards the end, but I ran out of time and I think someone had dropped some oil so it was really slippery at some points on track. We're starting third tomorrow, so the aim has to be for a race victory." Race two will take place at 08.30 local time tomorrow.

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