2017 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship – Ahmed Wins Again

Second Victory of the Day for Ahmed at Spa

BRDC British F3 Championship leader increased his points lead yet further today with his second victory of the day at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The 17 year-old started from pole but had to fight hard to take the lead back from Toby Sowery after losing the lead early on. The Carlin man went on to take his eighth win of the season ahead of team mates James Pull and Cameron Das who completed a stunning weekend for the team in fourth and fifth place respectively.

It was a strong start for pole man Ahmed off the line, to fend off the attentions of rival Sowery and initially pull away. The nature of the long and flowing Spa circuit however, meant that slip streaming and tows always play a big part and before long Ahmed was within striking distance for second placed man Sowery who snatched the lead early on.

Behind the leaders Das and Pull had both lost a place due to a fast-starting Ben Hingeley and were running in fifth and sixth respectively. The pair fought closely until Pull passed Das for fifth before setting off in pursuit of Callum O’Keeffe for fourth.

Ahmed meanwhile was fighting his own battle and was all over the back of Sowery in a close fight for the lead. Pull was also on the move, passing O’Keeffe to take fourth, with Das also closing in. Following a multi-car tussle, Das also passed O’Keeffe to take fifth and did well to fend off the attentions of Chase Owen.

Following several close laps, Ahmed took the lead with two laps to go, as Pull and Das settled into fourth and fifth. Pushing hard to break the tow to Sowery behind, Ahmed was trying to pull a gap. The Carlin man controlled the race beautifully to cross the line just 0.8s ahead of Sowery and claim win number eight of the season.

Speaking about his race, Ahmed said, “Carlin have done an amazing job in the last few weeks to make sure the car was good for this weekend after a tough weekend at Silverstone. We kept our heads down and fought hard all weekend as it was very close. Marginal gains are important around a circuit like this and that’s what we had this weekend.”