Vergne rues start to come home fourth

Pole sitter Jean-Eric Vergne fought back following a poor start in round seven of the 2010 Cooper Tires British F3 Series this afternoon, having dominated proceedings so far this weekend. The Red Bull junior lost several places after stalling at the start and put in a spirited drive to climb back up to fourth place to retain the championship lead. James Calado finished in a competitive sixth place, just ahead of team mates Jazeman Jaafar and Adriano Buzaid. Both Lucas Foresti and Rupert Svendsen- Cook saw their races end with collisions on lap one.

Jean Eric Vergne (FRA) Carlin Dallara Volkswagen Credit: British F3

Taking pole for the third time this season, Vergne looked strong having topped every session so far this weekend. However, the Frenchman was caught out by the high level of grip off the start line and stalled, allowing several cars through. Managing to restart, Vergne found himself mid-field as the drivers entered the first corner.

As the field thundered round the second corner, Foresti and Alex Brundle made contact, putting both cars in the gravel. A second skirmish left Svendsen-Cook with a damaged front wing, but the British racer recovered and pitted for a new nose box.

Back on the track Jaafar had managed to avoid all the first lap incidents and had climbed up to a remarkable fourth place from his 13th place grid slot. Having dropped out of the top ten on the start line, Vergne was trying to make amends and was pushing Carlos Huertas for sixth place. Behind him, Buzaid was eighth, with Calado just behind in ninth place.

By lap four, Vergne's resurgence was well underway as the Carlin racer passed Huertas for fifth and closed in on team mate Jaafar. Trying to find a way past Jaafar, Vergne out braked himself on lap seven and made contact with his fellow Carlin driver, causing Jaafar to lose momentum and allow Vergne through. Jaafar then found himself under attack from Calado, who finally found a way through on lap ten. Calado continued his progress to move up into sixth as Hewel Lloyd spun in front of him.

Vergne meanwhile was chasing down William Buller for the final podium position, and despite getting close in the final laps, couldn't find a way through and crossed the line in fourth place.

Reflecting on his race, Vergne said, "It's a shame for the start, but these things happen. I did my best to recover from it, it was my mistake and I have learnt from it. I had a good car and I think going from nearly the back of the field to fourth reflects our genuine potential. I tried to get the fastest lap, but I was in traffic the whole race so it was hard. Tomorrow I start from fourth and pole so I will be going to win the two races."

Trevor Carlin added, "After an uncharacteristically poor start from Jean-Eric, it was something of a damage limitation race, but we did see great drives in the end from Jazeman, James and Jean-Eric who fought his way back up to the front. I think we will see some more determined drives in the two remaining races tomorrow."

Print This Page	Go back to the previous page