Sunday, September 23 2018

Carlin's Nicolai Kjaergaard claimed his second BRDC British F3 win of the weekend at Donington Park this afternoon, finishing two seconds clear of Krishnaraaj Mahadik while Billy Monger claimed third place, having started from pole. 

Jamie Chadwick was fourth ahead of Hampus Ericsson, who capped off a fine maiden weekend with fifth place. Max Defourny claimed sixth ahead of Ayrton Simmons with Manuel Maldonado eighth. Race two winner Sun Yue Yang and Sasakorn Chaimongkol completed the top-10.

Monger made a decent start from his second pole position of the weekend, though teammate Kjaergaard made a slightly better one and was able to draw alongside the British driver on the run to Redgate, though with the inside line, Monger was able to hold the lead.

Under heavy pressure, Monger led across the line ending lap one, with a margin of 0.389s over the Dane. But at the Fogarty chicane on lap two, Monger made a mistake and dropped to fourth, promoting Kjaergaard into the lead, as well as Mahadik and Jamie Caroline into second and third.

On the same lap, Chris Dittmann Racing's Cian Carey went off at the chicane and was left beached in the gravel. The following lap there was more drama at the chicane, as Caroline sustained suspension damage and went off, ultimately retiring to the pits.

A safety car was brought out while Carey's car was recovered, with the race resuming on lap eight. Kjaergaard immediately built a gap, leading by over a second after the restart, while Monger piled the pressure on Mahadik, with the Brit around three tenths behind for a couple of laps.

The squabbling duo allowed Kjaergaard to pull out further, eventually claiming the flag by over two seconds to take his second win of the weekend and his fifth of the year to reignite his championship charge. 

Mahadik was able to pull out a gap in the closing stages to take second, over a second clear of Monger, who claimed his third podium of the season, and at the circuit where he suffered his life changing accident last year.

Chadwick enjoyed a strong race to finish just 0.7s away from the podium places, confirming the pace that put her third on the grid for the race, while Hampus Ericsson's fifth place was a good follow-up from his race two podium on his debut weekend, having started seventh.

Defourny's sixth place came from 10th on the grid, while Simmons' enjoyed a strong return to BRDC British F3, with seventh place in race three adding to two other top-sixes. 

Maldonado had a stunning race, climbing from 18th on the grid to finish eighth, and within 10 seconds of the leader, while Sun Yue Yang capped off a fine day with ninth place to add to his maiden win from earlier. Chaimongkol finished ahead of championship leader Linus Lundqvist, who recovered from his first retirement of the season to record an 11th place finish from 16th on the grid. Lundqvist though has endured a weekend to forget, with his 111 point lead coming into the weekend slashed to just 50 after Kjaergaard's double victory.

The BRDC British F3 Championship will therefore be decided at Silverstone in three weeks time, with Lundqvist and Kjaergaard the only two drivers still remaining with a chance of taking the crown.

BRDC British F3 Championship, Donington Park race three top-10:

1. Nicolai Kjaergaard, Carlin, 11 laps
2. Krishnaraaj Mahadik, Double R Racing, +2.067s
3. Billy Monger, Carlin, +3.313s
4. Jamie Chadwick, Douglas Motorsport, +4.104s
5. Hampus Ericsson, Fortec Motorsports, +4.939s
6. Max Defourny, Douglas Motorsport, +6.212s
7. Ayrton Simmons, Chris Dittmann Racing, +7.961s
8. Manuel Maldonado, Fortec Motorsports, +9.170s
9. Sun Yue Yang, Carlin, +9.559s
10. Sasakorn Chaimongkol, Hillspeed, +10.439s

For more information on the BRDC British F3 Championship, visit the official website here.