HOME I F3 BRITAIN I 2004 I British F3 Championship Race No. 12, Round 23 & 24 02/03 Oktober 2004 Brands Hatch Qualifying 1 Qualifying 2 Race 12, Round No. 23 Race 12, Round No. 24 British F3 Championship Race No. 11, Round 21& 22 11/12 September 2004 Spa-Franchorchamps/BEL Free Practice Qualifying Race 11, Round No. 21 Race 11, Round No. 22   14 September 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Spa-Franchorchamps Race Report Round 22 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas After the mayhem during Round 21, Adam Smith (Alan Docking Racing) was a non-starter, because the team didn't have enough parts left to fix the car after it was taken out of contention by Fairuz Fauzy (P1 Motorsport), who had a somewhat odd accident on the opening lap of the race. 14 September 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Spa-Franchorchamps Race Report Round 21 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas After a somewhat eventful morning, the 21st round of the 2004 British Formula Three Championship finally got underway a little late on Saturday afternoon. And the result - the minute the starting gantry lights went out - was instant chaos. Most of it was down to Nelson A Piquet (Piquet Sports), who was on pole, and set to 14 September 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Spa-Franchorchamps Qualifying Report Round 21 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas After a free practice session on Friday that was perhaps more interesting than some people appreciated, it was time for the actual qualifying session. With the weather remaining damp, but on a drying track, and under skies that were cloudy but with the sun breaking through, 22 cars attempted to take to 03 September 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Thruxton Race Report Round 20 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas Before we even started this race, we were down a Scholarship Class runner after Vas Calasan (Promatecme F3) crawled over the finish line at the end of Round 19 earlier in the day, the engine in his Dallara having dried enough! That meant there were three Scholarship Class runners left, so 03 September 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Thruxton Race Report Round 19 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas Round 19 of the British Formula Three series was always likely to be an interesting event, with an awful lot of people seemingly feeling they had a point to prove. For example, there was Rob Austin (Menu Motorsport), who probably wanted to prove he's as fast as he ever was, even though he 03 September 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Thruxton Qualifying Report Round 20 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas First fastest was Austin. 1.06.990 - he never got faster! Rossiter and Fauzy pitted early, as did most of the field. Carroll fast to start with - up to 2nd but 1.07s. It would be a while before anyone got close to Austin. Parente 3rd now. General dash for cover. Jelley fastest on 03 September 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Thruxton Qualifying Report Round 19 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas With some nasty clouds sweeping in across Salisbury Plain, most people weren't hanging about waiting for this session to start. It was more a case of get out on the track, get a banker lap in, and then try and improve if you could, but don't rely on the rain clouds holding off. Certainly even as 20 August 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Silverstone Race Report Round 18 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas Weather: Changeable. If the first race of the day was pretty dull, to say nothing of predictable, this one was anything but. In fact, it might well be the weirdest F3 race some of us have ever seen. The reason for the strangeness was the weather. After a day of relatively pleasant conditions in what has been an abysmal summer, those 20 August 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Silverstone Race Report Round 17 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas This was one of those typical Silverstone races, nothing much happening for most of it, and really quite dull for the casual spectator. And the early start really wasn't helping much. At the start, both Nelson A Piquet (Piquet Sports) and Danny Watts (Promatecme F3) got away well, the former 20 August 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Silverstone Qualifying Report Round 18 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas Just as he had been in the first session, so Will Power (Alan Docking Racing) was again out first for the second session of the day, this one counting towards Round 18 of the series. Clivio Piccione (Carlin Motorsport) was another one who was out there early taking a good look at track 20 August 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Silverstone Qualifying Report Round 17 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas First out of the traps was Will Power (Alan Docking Racing), the Australian usually running well here, and looking keen to prove that he could again. He was certainly an early pace setter, hitting the 1.43s early on, followed over the line by Karun Chandhok (T-Sport). The real interest was 24 July 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Oulton Park Race Report Round 16 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas This race nearly didn't happen. There was drama of a very bizarre nature earlier in the afternoon, when, as far as can be established, a helicopter pilot flying around the Cheshire area suddenly discovered that the cockpit of his chopper was filling up with smoke. Understandably he decided it might be a good idea to 24 July 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Oulton Park Race Report Round 15 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas We'd had a reasonably dry morning, though as usual the clouds were beginning to gather with intent to rain on the GTs - or at least that was most people thought. We knew differently. All that can be said is we're really beginning to regret offering to do a rain dance for Nelson A Piquet (Piquet Sports) back at 22 July 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Oulton Park Qualifying Report Round 16 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas Although it was warmer than it had been in the morning, it had rained shortly before the second Formula Three qualifying session of the day. Also, the track might very well have been drying steadily, but there were still some very worrying patches of standing water all over the place, and at Lodge, along with 22 July 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Oulton Park Qualifying Report Round 15 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas For what felt like the hundredth meeting in a row, it was raining when we all got to Oulton Park, and judging by the black clouds lurking around, it hadn't finished with us yet. It stopped temporarily just before the first of the day's practice sessions started, but the track was still very damp, and the 01 July 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Snetterton Race Report Round 14 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas And once again, the Formula Three race is pushed to the end of the day, this time as the last event of the day at around 17.30. The weather was changeable, just as it had been on Saturday, though the rain had held off for most of the 01 July 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Snetterton Race Report Round 13 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas For a meeting held in mid-Summer, conditions were horribly reminiscent of what we'd encountered back in April at the first race of the season. Quite why the gods had it in for us was a bit of mystery, though it may just have 30 June 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Snetterton Qualifying Report Round 14 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas The weather gods were not in the mood to be kind at Donington. Considering this is meant to be the height of Summer, we really should be having better conditions for our racing. Instead, it was cold and wet and horrible again, just like 30 June 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Snetterton Qualifying Report Round 13 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas In the middle of a very complicated weekend, the British F3 Championship was left feeling a little unwanted. Parked in the outer reaches of the paddock, on a patch of land that is usually a car park (and that resembles nothing so 22 June 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Castle Combe Race Report Round 12 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas There'd been a brief but torrential downpour about half an hour before the second F3 race of the day at Castle Combe (yes, the mid-Summer meeting, folks - don't you just love English weather?). It looked as if it would 22 June 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Castle Combe Race Report Round 11 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas The track was covered in all sorts of dirt left behind by exploding Corvettes and the like, and into the bargain there'd been some rain and more looked set to fall before this race was completed. We might get 22 June 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Castle Combe Qualifying Report Round 12 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas There had been a brief rain shower immediately after the session for Round 11 ended, and off and on we'd seen more rain, with the weather cooling off drastically as the day 22 June 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Castle Combe Qualifying Report Round 11 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas Initially this looked as if it could be a P1 circuit, with Viso getting an early flyer of a lap, just behind Watts, the Lola-Dome having been right on the pace in the morning's free practice session too. Someone who once again 10 June 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Snetterton Race Report Round 10 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas After the messy opening laps of the other two races of the weekend, there wasn't too much hope that everyone would behave better this time out. There were problems even before the race started, anyway. Adam Khan 10 June 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Snetterton Race Report Round 9 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas It was fine dry day at Snetterton, promising to burn the spectators to a crisp before it was done. And in case anyone wanted to fry instead, there were large quantities of oil all over the inside of the first corner, left behind 10 June 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Snetterton Race Report Round 4 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas This is not Snetterton - this is Silverstone (or rather this is the race that should have been held at Silverstone, but that had to be abandoned after a deluge of biblical proportions flooded the circuit and we all went home early 10 June 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Snetterton Qualifying Report Round 10 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas The weather we had been promised had materialized but then vanished again, and now it looked as if it might be coming on to rain, which would be a bit of a pain for the drivers involved in the replacement Round 4 10 June 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Snetterton Qualifying Report Round 9 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas Carlin Motorsport started the morning in formation, with Danilo Dirani leading round Clivio Piccione and Alvaro Parente, the three of them in flying duck formation. Meanwhile, Barton Mawer's Performance Racing Dallara had a 20 May 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Knockhill Race Report Round 8 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas Round 8: Well, what can we say? At the moment it seems as if the repercussions from this one are going to run and run. The one thing it did do of particular note (in a "Well, we've never seen that happen before!" fashion) was 20 May 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Knockhill Race Report Round 7 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas Knockhill is a very difficult circuit when it comes to starts. The undulating nature of the track means that it's very difficult to get a good start unless you're on the first row of the grid, simply because you are 20 May 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Knockhill Qualifying Report Round 8 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas This time around P1 Motorsport seemed reluctant to let either of their cars out, with Ernesto Viso and Adam Carroll both sitting in the pit lane waiting for everyone else to go out and clean the track after 20 May 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Knockhill Qualifying Report Round 7 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas Although the timetable at Knockhill appeared to be subject to unadvertised changes at no notice whatsoever, the first practice session started on time, partly because 09 May 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Croft Race Report Round 6 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas The race started with a dilemma - or at least it did if you were the marshal appointed to be the start judge, but you were also the marshal who was supposed to stand at the back of the grid with 09 May 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Croft Race Report Round 5 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas This time we got the sort of weather where people get burned and don't realize till it's way too late. Which accounts for the large number of people wandering round this particular 09 May 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Croft Qualifying Report Round 6 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas After the antics of the morning, this was a much better behaved session. Nelson A Piquet (Piquet Sports) was out there from the word go, making an attempt to get a better grid position than he'd managed 09 May 2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Croft Qualifying Report Round 5 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas Time for something of a confession here. We missed the first part of the first practice session for a number of reasons, not least among them being the impossibility of getting hold of an accurate 21.04.2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Silverstone Race Report Round 4 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas Rain stopped play - race postponed until further notice. Watch this space… 21.04.2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Silverstone Race Report Round 3 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas There's beginning to be something of a feeling of déjà vu about this season which is more than a little worrying. As at Donington, sometime on the Saturday night 21.04.2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Silverstone Qualifying Report Round 4 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas It became clear in the morning session that - as is often the case at Silverstone - it wasn't worth trying to run for the full 30 minutes, because this week's 21.04.2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Silverstone Qualifying Report Round 3 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas Come on, you knew there'd be changes. There always are… It wouldn't be British F3 if they weren't playing musical chairs all over the place. 11.04.2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Donington Race Report Round 2 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas Well, we were down one driver before we even started. Danny Watts (Promatecme F3) would not be racing this afternoon, the 11.04.2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Donington Race Report Round 1 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas There was a distinct possibility that this was going to turn out to a bit odd, with Nelson Piquet (Piquet Sports) not on pole where he thought 11.04.2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Donington Qualifying Report Round 2 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas The weather was not looking at all good for the second qualifying session of the day at Donington. A short, sharp shower beforehand had 11.04.2004 Formula3, British F3 Championship, Donington Qualifying Report Round 1 by Lynne Waite and Stella-Maria Thomas For the first meeting of the new season, the British Formula Three paddock was not a happy place. The reasons were numerous, starting with

After 24 Rounds 1. N. Piquet jr. 1. A. Carroll 3. J. Rossiter 1. R. Lewis 2. S. Jelley 3.V. Calasan 2005 14 August 2004 Race Castle Combe Race Donington Race Oulton Park

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