Dias wins Snetterton reverse grid race
Gabriel Dias claimed his second outright victory of the British Formula 3 season in this morning's reversed grid 'sprint' race at Snetterton
Rain shortly before the start made the track wet, but a number of drivers gambled on running slick tyres.
Wets were the tyres to have in the early stages though, and poleman Dias (Hitech) used his to good effect to draw away at the front, with fellow front row starter Daisuke Nakajima (Raikkonen Robertson), Carlin's Adriano Buzaid (up from row three) and Felipe Nasr (Raikkonen Robertson) in tow.
Fortec's Daniel McKenzie and Carlin's Jazeman Jaafar completed the leading group of wet runners during the first half of the race, while Dias' Hitech team-mate Will Buller led the charge of the slick-shod chasers in seventh.
Buzaid eased past Nakajima for second on lap eight, just as the slick tyres began to come in to their own. For the last nine of the 18 laps, slicks were the tyres to have and Buller (having already demoted Jaafar when the Malaysian lost time on lap eight), began taking chunks out of the gap to the leaders.
The Northern Irishman began exchanging fastest laps with fellow slick runner James Calado (Carlin), who was running further back inside the top 10. Buller made three places over the final three laps to complete the podium, but ran out of time to catch and pass the leading Brazilian pair of Dias and Buzaid.
Nakajima held on to fourth, ahead of Nasr, McKenzie and a fast-closing Calado. The Racing Steps Foundation driver looked more comfortable on slicks in the tricky conditions than his Red Bull-backed team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne, who finished eighth.
Wet-shod Jaafar clung on to ninth, while Max Snegirev (Fortec) claimed the first point of his F3 career by rounding out the top 10 after Raikkonen Robertson's Carlos Huertas and Carlin's Lucas Foresti were both delayed on the final lap.
Pos Driver Team Car Time/Gap 1. Gabriel Dias Hitech D/V 20m40.081s 2. Adriano Buzaid Carlin D/V + 0.393s 3. William Buller Hitech D/V + 2.795s 4. Daisuke Nakajima Raikkonen Robertson D/M + 4.914s 5. Felipe Nasr Raikkonen Robertson D/M + 7.303s 6. Daniel McKenzie Fortec D/M + 7.887s 7. James Calado Carlin D/V + 8.597s 8. Jean-Eric Vergne Carlin D/V + 12.305s 9. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin D/V + 20.769s 10. Maxim Snegirev Fortec D/M + 28.289s 11. Alex Brundle T-Sport D/V + 28.529s 12. Lucas Foresti Carlin D/V + 29.018s 13. Jay Bridger Litespeed D/M + 31.495s 14. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin D/V + 35.738s 15. Oli Webb Fortec D/M + 36.787s 16. Adderly Fong Sino Vision D/M + 38.677s 17. Hywel Lloyd CF/Manor D/M + 39.172s 18. Menasheh Idafar T-Sport D/H + 40.766s 19. Carlos Huertas Raikkonen Robertson D/M + 47.035s 20. James Cole T-Sport D/H + 47.373s 21. Juan Carlos Sistos West-Tec D/H + 1m01.565s
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