Cole To The Fore At Magny Cours

Brackley, UK - The first trip to Magny Cours for the British F3 International Series proved a great success for T-Sport's James Cole who put in mature drives in all three races at the weekend.

James Cole (GBR) T Sport Dallara Mugen Honda Credit: British F3

Cole and his team-mate Menasheh Idafar were incredibly evenly matched at Magny Cours, fighting each other hard in qualifying then in every race. It looked like first blood would go to Cole as he was leading the national class in race one but then, during the second half of the race another car spun in front of him which gave Idafar the opportunity to take a run at him and pass him for the win.

Magny Cours was a tough event for Alex Brundle who didn't quite get the results he wanted in qualifying which left him at the mercy of the mid-grid melee in all three races. With DNFs in races one and three and 13th place in race two the British racer will be hoping for a much better outing at Hockenheim in a few days time.

In race two the national class result swung back the other way when Idafar tangled with another car on lap one. His enforced pit-stop cleared the way for Cole to take the national class victory. Idafar quickly recovered and finished the race in second place.

The national class runners went into race three with a win apiece. Idafar took the lead at the start from pole position but Cole closed him down and passed him for the win. He didn't stop there either, continuing on to pass championship-class runner William Buller for 12th overall, before threatening to pass Adriano Buzaid for 11th before the chequered flag fell.

"It was great to see such good, close racing in the national class," said Team Principal Russell Eacott. "James really had the bit between his teeth this weekend and he and Menasheh had some rally good on-track battles. Alex still needs to make progress in qualifying as even a small improvement will put him in a position where he can race for points and stay out of trouble."

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