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
Photo by Gargantini

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