Jack Harvey splashes to Snetterton British Formula 3 win

Harvey was in front on the 10th lap when the race, which had started with all runners on rain tyres on a damp track, was hit by thunder and lightning and a torrential downpour.

Harvey defended from pre-race points leader Felix Serralles into the first corner, while Jazeman Jaafar - who made a storming start from fourth on the grid - was edged onto the grass on the outside. As the Malaysian turned into Riches, he was tapped into a spin by Harry Tincknell, an incident that ripped the valve out of the Devon man's left-front tyre and forced him to make a pitstop. Pipo Derani spun in avoidance of Jaafar.

At the next corner, the Montreal hairpin, National Class poleman Pedro Pablo Calbimonte, who had been edged onto the grass, found himself with no stopping power and smashed into Pietro Fantin and Carlos Sainz Jr. While Sainz stopped two corners later, Fantin made a lengthy pitstop for repairs.

Up front, Serralles kept pressure on Harvey, but a mistake by the Puerto Rican exiting the Hamiltons left-hander left the Lincolnshire man in the clear. Harvey went on to take fastest lap as he scored another victory in his Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen.

"That was hardest race of the year," he said. "I was aquaplaning in fourth gear on the back straight, radioing in and saying it was ridiculous. It was so hard knowing how hard you can push, especially when you're the first one around each lap."

Serralles led Fortec Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes team-mates Alex Lynn and Hannes van Asseldonk in a 2-3-4 for the team, as the fourth member of the squad, Derani, crashed at Riches just before the red flag appeared.

Meanwhile, Jaafar recovered and was just behind Double R Racing man Fahmi Ilyas and the T-Sport Dallara-Nissan of Nick McBride when the race was stopped.

Adderly Fong, who got up to sixth overall in the early chaos, claimed a comfortable National Class win in his CF Racing Dallara, while Tincknell completed the finishers in 12th after his stop, and was ecstatic to win the reversed-grid pole when Harvey - who has a habit of pulling the number '12' ball out of the hat - made the draw.