2016 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship – Double R at Snetterton

Win for Leist and Huovinen Scorches to Podium on UK Debut

Double R Racing started the new era of British Formula 3 racing in tremendous style at Snetterton over the Easter weekend, with Brazilian star Matheus Leist claiming a magnificent victory in round two – from the fifth row of the grid – and flying Finn Aleksanteri Huovinen scorching to a stunning second place on his UK racing debut.

The opening event of the rebranded BRDC British Formula 3 Championship, known as BRDC F4 until last week, began superbly for the Woking squad with Huovinen conquering the wet opening round on Easter Sunday, 27th March, to climb through from sixth on the grid into the runner-up spot.

In race two on Easter Monday, 28th March, Leist – who started 10th on the grid after a challenging first race – was sensational. Gaining an incredible six places on the opening lap, the Brazilian carved his way past three more cars on lap two to take a lead he never relinquished.

Double R’s third driver, Enzo Bortoleto, ended the weekend with a best result of eighth position on two occasions, in rounds one and two, but was in the fight for the podium in the second contest of the weekend after starting on pole position.

Image courtesy of Jakob Ebrey Photography

“It’s been a fantastic weekend, I feel totally rejuvenated!”, said Double R team principal Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt, “This championship is delivering proper motor racing, the cars are good, the drivers love them – huge credit to MSV [championship organiser] for producing such a great category. They have done a fantastic job with the new British F3 and the racing is outstanding.”

“We didn’t deliver what we expected to in qualifying, but in the races we showed what we’re capable of. Matheus’ drive from 10th to first in race two is right up there in my best performances of all time, he did a mega job. Aleksanteri’s podium was great too and Enzo had a solid weekend. It’s been a great start to our season, Double R is definitely on an upward path.”

Leist was the fastest of the Double R trio in qualifying on Sunday morning, lapping within just 0.2 seconds of pole position, despite having his best time disallowed for a track limits infringement, to secure fifth on the grid. Huovinen locked out the third row of the grid for the Woking team with sixth place while Bortoleto qualified 15th on his return to UK racing for the first time since 2014.

Rain arrived ahead of round one of the 2016 British F3 season and the encounter was declared a wet race. Huovinen, in contrast to Leist who slipped to 10th place, made an excellent getaway and put together a tremendous first lap to climb into the top three.

Grabbing second position on lap two, the Finnish rookie motored away from the chasing pack and ran fastest lap pace midway through the contest, before going on to finish the 12 lapper almost 10 seconds clear of third place.

Leist battled back from 10th into eighth on lap four, but on the subsequent tour the MSA Formula graduate slipped back down to 16th position following an excursion. Forced to mount a recovery for the second time, the South American reeled off some superb laps – including the second fastest of the race – to climb back into the top 10 before the chequered flag.

Compatriot Bortoleto gained four places on lap one but after breaking into the top 10 on lap three, he was edged back a couple of places. Battling back, he moved through into eighth place on lap eight and remained there to the finish to secure the ‘reverse grid’ pole position for round two.

Bank Holiday Monday’s timetable was thrown into chaos by extremely powerful winds and heavy, driving rain throughout the morning. Fortunately relenting in time for the afternoon, the two other British F3 contests were rescheduled and the second round was one to remember for Double R.

From pole on a rapidly drying track, Bortoleto made a good start to lead and kept the chasing pack at bay until midway through lap two. Edged back to second place by team-mate Leist, who scorched through the order from 10th position with some incredible driving, Bortoleto then slipped to third before the Safety Car was deployed ahead of the fourth tour.

At the re-start, Leist pulled clear at the front and went on to win by 1.4 seconds but Bortoleto missed out on the podium after being relegated to eighth during the closing stages. Huovinen, meanwhile, had to battle back from 10th position at the end of the first lap and did so with a very strong performance and some good overtaking to claim a hard-earned top four finish.

For round three, Leist started third on the grid and held position throughout the early running with nothing to choose between the lead four cars – just one second splitting them after the first couple of laps. Edged back to fourth on lap three, Leist remained there to the finish on lap 10 and ended the race only 0.7 seconds shy of another podium.

Once again, Huovinen confirmed his pace and racecraft too with a fine performance. Starting in eighth place, the Finn leapt into the top six on the opening lap and pressured the cars ahead with searing pace – setting fastest lap times at mid-distance – to cap a fantastic debut weekend fourth in the championship, the highest placed of the Double R drivers.

Bortoleto was elbowed back to 14th position during the first few laps, having started 12th on the grid, but did manage to work his way back into 11th place before the chequered flag on lap 10 to wrap up a consistent event.

Double R Racing’s ‘home’ track, Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit in Kent, will host rounds four, five and six of the BRDC British F3 season on 16th/17th April alongside the British GT Championship. In the meantime, the squad’s MSA Formula team will begin its 2016 season this coming weekend, 2nd/3rd April, at Brands Hatch’s shorter Indy Circuit.