Race 1: Carroll surprises
Adam Carroll claimed victory in an eventful British Formula 3 race at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium today (Saturday). A near-stall by Nelson Angelo Piquet at the start means that Carroll has closed the championship gap to the Brazilian, but Britain's James Rossiter is now most likely out of the hunt after failing to score.
Pole man Piquet dropped several spots at the start, and then things got worse as he clashed with Rossiter at Les Combes on the first lap. That gave Rossiter a puncture that led to another spin and an afternoon without points, but was the beginning of a great fightback by Piquet, who fought his way from the back to sixth by the flag.
Meanwhile there was carnage up front on the first lap, also at Les Combes. Nicolas Lapierre moved over on Clivio Piccione as they disputed the lead under braking, which resulted for a heavy exit for the visitor from the Euroseries. That left Carroll behind Piccione, but the Brit pounced swiftly to take a lead he would never lose.
Piccione shadowed him to second, while Danilo Dirani held off Danny Watts for third place. After heavy pressure from Watts, Dirani's life became somewhat easier as the Promatecme driver made a mistake under braking at La Source.
Piquet can still seal the title in tomorrow's race, but crucially Carroll will start from pole thanks to his race one victory. Piquet's recovery drive means he can start sixth and will need some more mishaps for his lead to fall apart. The Brazilian leads Carroll by 36 points and Rossiter by 45. His rivals will need to stay within 43 after tomorrow to still have a chance at the Brands Hatch finale.
Adam Carroll (Dallara-Mugen) +30m06.595s
Clivio Piccione (Dallara-Mugen) +0.731s
Danilo Dirani (Dallara-Mugen) +5.439s
Danny Watts (Lola-Dome-Mugen) +6.484s
Marko Asmer (Dallara-Renault) +7.717s
Nelson Angelo Piquet (Dallara-Mugen) +8.178s
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