Webb wins race one at Brands
Oli Webb claimed his first British Formula 3 victory on British soil with a commanding drive at Brands Hatch this afternoon
Despite an "average start", the Fortec racer converted pole position into an immediate lead and a blistering first lap lifted him over a second clear of Carlin's James Calado.
This duo were the only drivers capable of consistently lapping inside the 1m17s bracket and swiftly dropped the rest of the field.
The advantage ebbed and flowed between them for the first 14 laps, before Webb pumped in two consecutive times over half a second faster than his rival to stretch his lead out to 2.6 seconds. Calado losing 1.7s while trying to lap pitlane starter Gabriel Dias (Hitech) on lap 18 settled the matter completely.
Webb cruised home over the remainder of the 23-lap distance to collect his third win of the season. Calado closed to within 2.6s of Webb at the finish to take second and remain in charge of the runner-up spot in the championship.
Carlin's Adriano Buzaid took a fine third, but did not have the pace to live with the leaders. He made a great start to overhaul a sluggish Carlos Huertas (Raikkonen Robertson) and then pass team-mate Rupert Svendsen-Cook round the outside at Paddock Hill, before settling into third.
Huertas spent the race with mirrors full of Hitech's William Buller in fifth, while Fortec's Daniel McKenzie, a subdued Jean-Eric Vergne (Carlin), and Raikkonen Robertson pairing Daisuke Nakajima and Felipe Nasr rounded out the top 10.
T-Sport's Menasheh Idafar did a sterling job to claim National Class honours in 11th place overall. At one stage he held off a train of five international class cars in defence of his position.
Pos Driver Team Car Time/Gap 1. Oli Webb Fortec D/M 30m00.505s 2. James Calado Carlin D/V + 2.628s 3. Adriano Buzaid Carlin D/V + 10.386s 4. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin D/V + 20.210s 5. Carlos Huertas Raikkonen Robertson D/M + 28.509s 6. William Buller Hitech D/V + 28.719s 7. Daniel McKenzie Fortec D/M + 29.051s 8. Jean-Eric Vergne Carlin D/V + 30.229s 9. Daisuke Nakajima Raikkonen Robertson D/M + 30.905s 10. Felipe Nasr Raikkonen Robertson D/M + 31.357s 11. Menasheh Idafar T-Sport D/H + 49.546s 12. Jay Bridger Litespeed D/M + 50.065s 13. Alex Brundle T-Sport D/V + 51.372s 14. Pietro Fantin Hitech D/V + 53.138s 15. Lucas Foresti Carlin D/V + 54.070s 16. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin D/V + 54.406s 17. James Cole T-Sport D/H + 1m03.000s 18. Hywel Lloyd CF/Manor D/M + 1m03.309s 19. Maxim Snegirev Fortec D/M + 1m03.551s Not classified/retirements: Gabriel Dias Hitech D/V 5 laps Adderly Fong Sino Vision D/M 0 laps
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