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12 October 2011 09:33
MOTORING
Lincolnshire driver ninth in his rookie year
Bassingham driver Jack Harvey has secured ninth in the British F3 Championship following three tricky races at Silverstone.
Despite Jack's impressive run of podiums coming to an end, the Racing Steps Foundation-backed driver was able to finish in the top ten in his rookie year in the Cooper Tyres-sponsored series.
Following a strong test at Silverstone two weeks ago - where Jack ran in the top two on both days - he was hopeful of securing further podium finishes at one of his favourite tracks on the calendar. Friday’s free practice sessions saw Jack immediately on the pace, running in the top three in the first session and in the top six in the second session, despite running on old tyres. However a problem with tyre pressure in qualifying put an end to Jack's hopes for a strong end to the season, as he was only able to manage the ninth fastest time of the session.
Jack made a good start to race one but with the cars in front of him bunched up into turn one, he was forced to drop back and crossed the finish line in tenth position, just outside of the points. Race two saw Jack start on row five of the grid. Faced with a damp track, he made the call the start on wet tyres as believed he could gain more at the start of the race than he would lose towards the end as the track dried. The decision paid off early on but in the closing stages of the race with the track drying, Harvey was forced to seek out the damp parts of the track to keep the tyres cool and crossed the line in sixth; collecting five Championship points.
The final race of the season saw Jack receive a drive through penalty for exceeding the track limits to put a stop to his charge through the field and he crossed the finish line in ninteenth. Jack says, "To be totally honest it’s been a really disappointing two days. We went into weekend with really high expectations on the back of a great test and our pace on Friday justified that confidence. However an issue with tyre pressure during qualifying meant that we were starting the races way down the field and out of position to where we should have been.
“However, up until this weekend we were having a brilliant end to my rookie season with one win and five podiums in a row so we have to focus on that. After a tough start to the season it has been great to see everything come together from the midpoint and for us as a team to get stronger and stronger."
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