Jean-Eric Vergne tops Oulton Park British F3 test

Carlin Motorsport beats 2009 pole position time in testing

10/03/2010 - Carlin Motorsport's Jean-Eric Vergne set a blinding pace at the official one day test from the Cooper Tires British F3 Series at Oulton Park today (Wednesday 10 March) to go quicker than the 2009 pole position time of former F3 front-runner Max Chilton.

Today's test is an early indication of potential winners for the season opening event, which will take place at Oulton Park over Easter weekend (3/5 April). Colombian Carlos Huertas led the morning session in his Double R Dallara, but Vergne went quicker during the afternoon to set the overall fastest time of the day.

Huertas ended the day second on the timesheets ahead of Adriano Buzaid, who has switched from the T-Sport team to Carlin Motorsport in 2010.

Vergne and Buzaid's team-mate James Calado was the quickest British driver in fourth place, ahead of local talent Oli Webb from Knutsford, who will make his British F3 debut at his home circuit next month.

Double R duo Felipe Nasr and Daisuke Nakajima set the sixth and seventh quickest times respectively, whilst Hywel Lloyd rounded out the top eight in his family-run CF Racing Dallara.

In the National Class competition, another local rising star - Southport's James Cole - had a solid day, finishing second behind T-Sport team-mate Manesheh Idafar.

Oulton Park will debut the new three race format for British F3 when it arrives at the Cheshire circuit in April for a joint headline meeting with the Avon Tyres British GT Championship.

Cooper Tires British F3 Series, Oulton Park, testing result:
1. Jean-Eric Vergne (Carlin Motorsport Dallara Volkswagen), 1m 27.444s
2. Carlos Huertas (Raikkonen Robertson Racing Dallara Mercedes), +0.353s
3. Adriano Buzaid (Carlin Motorsport Dallara Volkswagen), +0.402s
4. James Calado (Carlin Motorsport Dallara Volkswagen), +0.955s
5. Oli Webb (Fortec Motorsport Dallara Mercedes), +0.932s
6. Felipe Nasr (Raikkonen Robertson Racing Dallara Mercedes), +1.066s
7. Daisuke Nakajima (Raikkonen Robertson Dallara Mercedes), +1.142
8. Hywel Lloyd (CF Racing Dallara Mercedes), +1.285s

British F3 National Class test times
1. Menasheh Idafar (T-Sport Dallara Mugen Honda), 1m 28.776s
2. James Cole (T-Sport Dallara Mugen Honda), 1m 30.291s
3. Alex Jones (West-Tec Dallara Mugen Honda), 1m 30.903s
4. Max Snegirev (West-Tec Dallara-Mugen Honda), 1m 33.512s

The British F3 and GT Championships will visit Oulton Park over Easter weekend (3/5 April). Tickets are on sale now from £17 for adults, with free entry for children aged 12 and under. For more information call 0870 950 9000 or click on the link below.

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