Hartley wins race two at Croft
Brendon Hartley became the fourth driver to take his maiden Formula 3 win in the first four races of the British championship, with victory at Croft this afternoon
The Carlin Motorsport driver led from start to finish in a race which was red flagged and restarted after a huge six-car accident on the first lap.
Sergio Perez and Marcus Ericsson tangled exiting the Jim Clark Esses and Ericsson spun onto the infield and back across the circuit. Several cars had to take to the grass in avoidance, including Sam Abay who spun as he rejoined the circuit and was t-boned by Henry Arundel, while Esteban Guerrieri went into the wall on the outside.
Oliver Oakes hit the marshal's post on the outside of Barcroft after he was hit from behind by Niall Quinn when he braked to avoid the carnage.
Six cars were eliminated immediately, with only Perez of those involved continuing. No drivers were seriously injured, but a marshal was taken to hospital with a suspected broken leg. It's thought that he may have been struck by Oakes's car as it went into the barrier he was standing behind.
When the race restarted, Hartley broke away immediately and controlled a gap of between one and two seconds over Perez for the duration of the race.
"It was frustrating to lose my lead when the red flag came out," said Hartley. "But I knew I had a 3.5 second lead in my pocket for the aggregate result so I was in a good position from the restart.
"I just needed to drive a sensible race to get the first win out the way, get some confidence back, and to help the team's confidence in me as well. It's a shame the win didn't come earlier but I really need to continue it now."
Oliver Turvey secured the final podium place when he dived inside Atte Mustonen at Tower four laps from the end.
Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastian Hohenthal bagged another couple of points finishes in fifth and seventh, sandwiching Nick Tandy who was the sole remaining Mygale in sixth.
Pos Driver Team Car Aggregate Time
1. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/M 23:39.172
2. Sergio Perez T-Sport D/H 23:43.320
3. Oliver Turvey Carlin D/M 23:55.361
4. Atte Mustonen Double R D/M 23:56.924
5. Jaime Alguersuari Carlin D/M 23:58.927
6. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 24:01.051
7. Sebastian Hohenthal Fortec D/M 24:02.370
8. Andy Meyrick Carlin (N) D/H 24:14.532
9. Alistair Jackson Double R D/M 24:19.173
10. Max Chilton Hitech D/M 24:25.187
11. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 24:30.335
12. Salman Al-Khalifa T-Sport (N) D/H 24:32.916
13. Hywel Lloyd CF (N) D/H 24:38.705
14. Jay Bridger Fluid (N) D/H 24:39.401
15. Viktor Jensen Nexa D/H 24:49.876
16. Steven Guerrero T-Sport (N) D/H 24:57.405
17. Kristjan Einar Carlin (N) D/H 25:00.364
18. Stefan Wilson Fluid (N) D/H 25:05.983
19. Craig Reiff Nexa (N) D/H 25:09.846
20. Philip Major Fortec D/M +1 lap
21. John Martin Double R D/M +2 laps
Not classified
Driver Team Car Laps
Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate M/M 13 laps
Michael Devaney Ultimate M/M 1 lap
Henry Arundel Double R D/M 0 laps
Marcus Ericsson Fortec D/M 0 laps
Esteban Guerrieri Ultimate M/M 0 laps
Oliver Oakes Eurotek D/M 0 laps
Sam Abay Carlin D/M 0 laps
Niall Quinn Loctite (N) D/H 0 laps
Fastest lap, Hartley 1:13.685 on lap 7
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