Donington 1: Piquet's slick win
Nelson Piquet Jr snatched victory in the first British F3 race at Donington Park, passing from Rob Austin with less than half a lap to go after gambling on slick tyres on a damp but drying track. Alan van der Merwe clinched the championship, despite spinning off and failing to finish the race
A downpour before the start caused most of the field to fit wet tyres, with the exception of van der Merwe (Carlin) and Piquet (Piquet Sports). Richard Antinucci (Promatecme) pitted for slicks at the end of the formation lap.
At the start Austin (Menu), making a one-off appearance this weekend, shot through the middle of front-row starters van der Merwe and Danny Watts (Hitech) to take the lead, and soon opened a clear advantage.
Meanwhile, the runners on slicks struggled for grip and slipped to the tail of the field, although two safety car periods helped keep them on terms. However, by lap 16 the track began to dry, and the trio began to tear through the field. Heading into the final lap they were bearing down fast on Austin, whose wet tyres were by now completely shot.
Van der Merwe attacked Austin heading into Redgate, but lost control of his car and spun into the gravel. This left the way clear for Piquet, who passed Austin for the win heading into MacLeans, with Antinucci following through for second on the subsequent straight.
Will Davison finished fourth (Fortec), ahead of a career-best showing from Rizal Ramli (SYR) and Robert Dahlgren (Fortec). Jamie Green (Carlin) finished seventh, ending his hopes of catching van der Merwe for the title, despite the South African's failure to finish.
Steven Kane (T-Sport) took victory in the Scholarship class, after Ernesto Viso (P1 Motorsport) damaged his front wing when he drove into the back of Kane's car.
Nelson Piquet Jr (Piquet Sports)
Richard Antinucci (Promatecme)
Rob Austin (Menu)
Will Davison (Fortec)
Rizal Ramli (SYR)
Robert Dahlgren (Fortec)
Steven Kane (T-Sport)
Ernesto Viso (P1 Motorsport)
Justin Sherwood (Performance Racing)
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