Race Report

Formula 1 British Grand Prix 2014
GP3 SERIES

Circuit: Silverstone (GB), Length 5.901 km, 5^th/6^th July 2014, Rounds 5 & 6
www.silverstone.co.uk

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2014:
Pal Varhaug (NOR), Mathéo Tuscher (CH) and Adderly Fong (PRC)

Tuscher in top ten position in Silverstone

The GP3 Series reconvened on the demanding Silverstone Circuit, racing as one of the support races for the Formula 1 British Grand Prix. This was their third outing supporting the 2014 Grand Prix Programme.

Race One Qualifying

Saturday, 05/07/14, 08.45 – 09.15, Weather: Overcast, 14°C

The free practice session took place on Friday evening on a dry track. Mathéo only used one set of new tyres in this session, and managed to reach 9th place with them. Adderly drove well and got up to 12^th. There was a problem with Pal’s gearbox, and he was not able to improve as a result, finishing the session down in 25^th.
The track was wet on Saturday morning from the overnight rain. Shortly after the start of the session there was an accident involving Gilbert and Balthasar, which caused a very long break. During this time the rain stopped completely though it didn’t mean that the track would dry. Mathéo experienced a spin in the second sector on two consecutive laps, and after that he drove rather more cautiously. Pal and Adderly improved steadily. After the tyre changes there were only a few laps left. By the end Pal was 13^th, Mathéo was 15^th and Adderly occupied 22^nd place on the grid for race one.

GP3 Series

Race One (30 Minutes)

Saturday, 05/07/14, 16.20, Weather: Sunny, 19°C

The weather had improved greatly and the track was now dry. The start went well, and as is always the case, the first lap was very important, because on this flowing circuit it is not easy to overtake. Pal got got a good start and was in 10^th by the end of the first lap. Mathéo was caught between Niederhauser and Fontana in 14^th, and Adderly was fighting with Balthasar and Cullen. He made up places and then lost them again finishing a tough race in 21^st. Stoneman was able to get past Pal, but Pal managed to defend 11^th place until the end. Niederhauser, Mathéo and Fontana stayed together like pearls on a string, and Mathéo couldn’t find a way past Niederhauser because their pace was so evenly matched, which meant he finished in 14^th.

The grid for the second race of the weekend was set by reversing the order of the first eight finishers in the first race, with the rest of the places set according to finishing order in the first race.

GP3 Series

Race Two (30 Minutes)

Sunday, 06/07/14, 08.10, Weather: Sunny, 13°C

The start was hectic with several incidents and changes of position on the first lap. Pal moved up to 9^th, Mathéo was 13^th and Adderly was already up to 16^th. Niederhauser and Eriksson put pressure on Pal, Pal tried to defend his position, but then went off and had to cut one of the corners. Niederhauser nearly managed to get past when Eriksson was late on the brakes but hit him. In a chain reaction Niederhauser also hit Pal and all three of them went off and out of the race. That moved Mathéo up to 9^th place and Adderly was now in 13^th. It was now important to hang onto these good positions. When Stoneman had to retire Mathéo benefitted and crossed the finish line, after an eventful race, in 8^th, for which he received one point. Adderly also managed to avoid all the accidents and claimed his best result yet, with 11^th.

The next race is in two weeks’ time at Hockenheim (D).

Championship standings after 6 out of 16 races:

1^st Alex Lynn (GB), 82 points; 2^nd Jimmy Eriksson (SWE), 78 points; 3^rd Richie Stanaway (NZ), 68 points; 4^th Emil Bernstorff (GB), 58 points; 5^th Marvin Kirchhofer (D), 49 points; 7^th Mathéo Tuscher (CH), 25 points

2014 GP3 Series

For more information:

• www.gp3series.com
• www.italiaracing.net