Macau: Jarvis wins qualification race
Oliver Jarvis |
Briton Oliver Jarvis won a shortened qualification race for the Polytec Macau Formula Three Grand Prix after a thrilling battle with closest rival Marko Asmer.
The TOM’S Toyota driver, who started from pole position, lost the lead at the start to Asmer but wasted little time in recovering his position.
An attempt to overtake Asmer was aborted on lap two because of yellow flags, but following a brief safety car period to allow marshals to retrieve the stranded car of Esteban Guerrieri who had crashed at Mandarin Bend on the first lap, Jarvis started really hounding Asmer.
Oliver Jarvis (car #5) was lucky at the 1st corner … on his way to win the 1st race. The others are (left to right): Mortara, Buemi and Tsukakoshi |
He duly made his decisive move on lap five after slipstreaming Asmer down the main straight and he overtook him around the outside into Lisboa Bend. Jarvis then pulled clear to open out a 2.3 second lead before the race was red flagged on lap nine following a series of accidents.
Bruno Senna and Nico Hulkenberg had a big coming together at Mandarin Bend on lap seven, and then just one lap later Atte Mustonen clouted the tire wall at R-Bend and his car was left stranded in the middle of the track.
The red flag meant Jarvis took the victory from Asmer, with Japanese Formula Three champion Kazuya Oshima finishing third after a fairly lonely race. James Jakes took fourth for Manor Motorsport, ahead of Sam Bird and Yelmer Buurman.
Jarvis was delighted with the win, but well aware that things will not be so straightforward in tomorrow’s main event. “I was very comfortable but the second race will be very different," he said. “It is all or nothing, so it will be very interesting."
Several of the potential front-runners hit trouble early on in a collision at Lisboa Bend. Edoardo Mortara braked too late for the corner and hit the back of Sebastien Buemi, who in turn then sideswiped Kodai Tsukakoshi. Mortara and Buemi were out on the spot, although Tsukakoshi was able to recover to finish ninth.
POS |
NO | DRIVER | NAT | TEAM | BEHIND | |
1 | 5 | Oliver JARVIS | GBR | Team Reckless Tom's | ||
2 | 11 | Marko ASMER | EST | Hitech Racing | 1.687 | |
3 | 6 | Kazuya OSHIMA | JPN | Team Reckless Tom's | 3.159 | |
4 | 18 | James JAKES | GBR | Manor Motorsport | 4.722 | |
5 | 15 | Sam BIRD | GBR | Carlin Motorsport | 5.595 | |
6 | 20 | Yelmer BUURMAN | NED | Manor Motorsport | 6.563 | |
7 | 1 | Stephen JELLEY | GBR | Raikkonen-Robertson Racing | 12.308 | |
8 | 22 | Robert STREIT | BRA | Prema Powerteam | 12.746 | |
9 | 21 | Kodai TSUKAKOSHI | JPN | Manor Motorsport | 15.408 | |
10 | 16 | Niall BREEN | IRL | Carlin Motorsport | 15.693 | |
11 | 4 | Jonathan KENNARD | GBR | Raikkonen-Robertson Racing | 16.734 | |
12 | 14 | Brendon HARTLEY | NZL | Carlin Motorsport | 16.984 | |
13 | 19 | Frank MAILLEUX | FRA | Manor Motorsport | 17.988 | |
14 | 26 | Atte MUSTONEN | FIN | Signature Plus | 18.626 | |
15 | 27 | Carlo van DAM | NED | HBR Motorsport | 19.691 | |
16 | 10 | Walter GRUBMULLER | AUT | Hitech Racing | 23.579 | |
17 | 28 | Rodolfo AVILA | MAC | HBR Motorsport | 30.999 | |
18 | 31 | Takuya IZAWA | JPN | Fortec Motorsport | 48.176 | |
19 | 30 | Jo MERSZEI | MAC | Swiss Racing Team | 1:17.613 | |
20 | 3 | Bruno SENNA | BRA | Raikkonen-Robertson with Galaxy | 1 LAP | |
21 | 8 | Nico HULKENBERG | GER | ASM F3 | 1 LAP | |
22 | 7 | Romain GROSJEAN | FRA | ASM F3 | 1 LAP | |
Not | Classified | |||||
17 | LEI Kit Meng | MAC | Carlin Motorsport | N.C.F. | ||
23 | Renger van der ZANDE | NED | Prema Powerteam | D.N.F. | ||
12 | Michael HO | MAC | Hitech Racing | D.N.F. | ||
29 | CHEONG Lou Meng | MAC | Swiss Racing Team | D.N.F. | ||
24 | Edoardo MORTARA | ITA | Signature Plus | D.N.F. | ||
2 | Sebastien BUEMI | SUI | Raikkonen-Robertson Racing | D.N.F. | ||
25 | Esteban GUERRIERI | ARG | Signature Plus | D.N.F. | ||
9 | Kamui KOBAYASHI | JPN | ASM F3 | D.N.F. | ||
Fastest | Lap | |||||
5 | Oliver JARVIS | Team Reckless Tom's | 102.29mph |