News
Marko a respectable 4th in Macau but disappointed not to win
19.11.2007
Hitech Racing came home as leading British F3 team with fourth place in today’s Polytec Formula 3 Grand Prix in Macau.
Estonian Marko Asmer had consistently been the quickest of the Lloyds
TSB Insurance British F3 International Series runners over the course
of the weekend, the 2007 champion just unable to add the coveted Macau
crown to his already impressive record.
Starting from second on the grid following his superb runner-up spot in
yesterday’s qualifier, the 23 year-old made a good start but got
squeezed out on the entry to the first corner, dropping to fourth as
the pack arrived at Lisboa. A spirited drive from the youngster soon
saw him back up to third and looking to retake second when the safety
car was deployed on lap eight to retrieve the stricken car of Franck
Mailleux.
At the restart a charging Kodai Tsukakoshi found a way past dropping
Marko back down to fourth, and despite setting the race fastest lap,
and establishing a new lap record on the way, had to settle just
outside the podium positions.
His young team-mate Austrian Walter Grubmüller continued to make
excellent progress, the 18 year-old F3 rookie gaining three seconds a
lap over the course of the weekend. His personal best lap, achieved in
the final stages of the race underlined his consistent improvement as
he recorded 18th at the finish.
The team’s third driver Michael Ho persevered with an overheating
clutch, sustained as a result of the lengthy safety car period, and
eventually finished 24th in the 15 lap race.
"I'm disappointed," Asmer said. "It took a few laps more for the tyres to come in but that was not really the problem."
"It was just straightline speed. At the start I got alongside Oliver but then he just had more speed so he could pull clear."
"Pace wise we were quite good I think, I had the fastest lap, so we were quickest but not on the straights."
"I don't know what it is," he added. "When I went behind someone in the
tow I stayed flat but he would still pull away. Tsukakoshi is also
Mercedes-Benz and he was much quicker. The downforce levels we were
running were the same, so it must have been something else."
Results of the Polytec Formula 3 Grand Prix of Macau – 15 laps
1. Oliver Jarvis Team Reckless Tom's Dallara-Toyota Tom's 38min 29.452secs
2. Kodai Tsukakoshi Manor Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes +1.767secs
3. Kazuya Oshima Team Reckless Tom's Dallara-Toyota Tom's +4.390secs
4. Marko Asmer Hitech Racing Dallara-Mercedes +5.331secs
5. Roberto Streit Prema Powerteam Dallara-Mercedes +6.558secs
6. Sam Bird Carlin Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes +7.148secs
18. Walter Grubmüller Hitech Racing Dallara-Mercedes +26.631secs
24. Michael Ho Hitech Racing Dallara-Mercedes +1 lap