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Bottas secures wet win at Donington

Round 26 race report

DONINGTON PARK 25 SEPTEMBER 2011: Flying Finn Valtteri Bottas became the 10th different winner of the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series season at Donington Park this morning, the Double R driver making the best of the damp conditions to secure victory in round 26.

Bottas, in only his second race in one of Double R’s Mercedes-powered Dallaras, snatched the advantage at the outset, blasting away from third on the grid to overhaul front-row men Will Buller and Harry Tincknell in their Fortec Motorsport cars on the run down to Redgate corner. From then on, all the Finn’s rivals saw was his spray…

Bottas was 14s clear the chequered flag. “I had a really good start,” said Bottas. “The guys in front spun their wheels a bit. In conditions like this it’s good to be in front and just be able to focus on driving and finding the dry lines. I pushed at first to make a gap and then after that I did not take any big risks.”

Although there was never much doubt who would win the 20-minute sprint race, the battle for second raged throughout. Buller led Double R’s Scott Pye to the eighth lap, when the Australian lunged for a gap at the Melbourne hairpin but succeeded only in delaying the pair of them, which gave Tincknell the opportunity to nip past both into Goddards.

Buller reasserted himself on the following lap, and the outcome of the fight for second was settled on lap 10 when Pye and Tincknell tangled at McLeans. Tincknell was able to get going again but Pye had to limp to the pits and retirement.

This promoted the mercurial Menasheh Idafar to third; the Anglo-Bahraini had started 11th for T-Sport and was revelling in the conditions. Sixth by the end of the first lap, he then picked off Jazeman Jaafar before gaining two spots thanks to the Pye/Tincknell clash. Though he harried Buller in the closing laps, there was no way through.

Jaafar placed fourth ahead of the recovered Tincknell, Carlos Huertas and Lucas Foresti. Saturday victor Rupert Svendsen-Cook recovered from a disastrous opening lap to battle back to eighth, demoting his team-mate Jack Harvey on the final lap. New champion Felipe Nasr started from the back after his first-race retirement and opted for slick tyres, which did not come good until the closing stages; the Brazilian made it to 10th at the line and secured fastest lap.

New Rookie champ Kotaro Sakurai retired with suspension damage, joining Pye, Pipo Derani and Bart Hylkema on the sidelines.

PODIUM AUDIO INTERVIEWS

Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series

Round 26, Donington Park GP 25/9/2011

13 laps / 32.33 miles

Provisional results Championship class

1 Valtteri BOTTAS / FIN, Double R Dallara-Mercedes 20m 39.657s / 93.90mph

2 William BULLER /GBR, Fortec Dallara-Mercedes +14.247s

3 Menasheh IDAFAR / GBR, T-Sport Dallara-Volkswagen +14.429s

4 Jazeman JAAFAR / MAS, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen +24.456s

5 Harry TINCKNELL / GBR, Fortec Dallara-Mercedes +24.712s

6 Carlos HUERTAS / COL, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen +27.200s