British F3 - Kerr upsets the form book
Before the start of the season, Carlin driver James Courtney was a clear favourite for the British F3 title. After all, he was driving for the 2001 championship winning team and was a protégé of the Jaguar Formula 1 team.
But nobody told Robbie Kerr this. The 2001 Scholarship Class champion moved up to the main category with Alan Docking Racing, who hadn't won a title since 1977. Yet Kerr was able to battle Courtney from the off, winning the very first race and turning the form book on its head.
Kerr's title charge was helped by Courtney's spectacular mid-season collapse, which followed a huge testing accident in a Jaguar F1 car at Monza. In the first half of the season, Courtney won 12 poles. In the second half, he took none. This is not to suggest that Kerr didn't deserve to be champion. The young Briton won nine races and clinched the title with a round to spare.
The season was not just about the two main title protagonists. Heikki Kovalainen looked fast all season, and when finally broke through to win five of the final nine races for the Fortec squad. Frenchman Bruce Jouanny won twice, and both challenged Courtney for the runner-up spot in the championship.
The Scholarship class was a little more clear-cut. Adam Carroll dominated the category, winning 14 of the 26 races, and frequently embarrassed many of the better-funded Championship teams.
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments