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 Racing
Engineering’s Borja Garcia was the man who dominated the fourth
round of the Spanish Formula 3 Championship which took place this
weekend in Estoril, Portugal. Borja not only started both races
from pole position, but also achieved both victories, and marked
the fastest lap times in both races. Achieving the maximum amount
of points possible, Borja Garcia took over the lead of the overall
championship standings after celebrating victory number four and
five of the season. Steven Kane scored a total of sixteen points
with two fantastic third places while Maria the Villota finished
thirteenth in the first race and seventh in the second race.
With
these excellent results, Racing Engineering prolongs it’s outstanding
performance at the Estoril Circuit, winning seven of the eight races
held there so far.
Race 1:
During the first race at the Estoril Circuit, Borja Garcia left
no doubts about his qualities. Borja, who achieved both pole positions
during the Saturday qualifying sessions, had a good start to the
race, leading the field into the first corner. From that moment
on Borja’s dominance was apparent. By the end of the second
lap the distance to Giao, who was running in second place, was already
4.4 seconds and grew to an unbelievable 24.554 gap by the end of
the sixteen-lap race. During every single lap Borja drove at least
one second faster than the rest of the field and marked the fastest
time at 1’35.752 in his sixth lap. Borja Garcia was clearly
the winner of the first race given his tremendous drive.
Steven
Kane started the race from third position and was overtaken by Barba
at the start. However, the English racer put Barba under so much
pressure that by lap seven, Barba made a mistake, and spun ahead
of Steven, who moved back into third position. Although by now Steven’s
gap to Giao was already quite large due to this loss of time caused
by Barba , Steven kept pushing and reduced the time difference,
but had to finally settle for third place.
Maria
de Villota started the race in eighth position and immediately gained
two positions at the start. During the race Maria was part of a
group of drivers battling hard for their positions. By lap 14, with
only two laps from the finish and still defending her sixth position,
Maria spun in a corner where there was oil on the track. Milla,
running behind Maria could not break on time and hit the car of
Maria, who couldn’t finish the race.
Race
2:
In the second race of the 4.182km Estoril Circuit, Borja once again
started from pole position but was overtaken by Giao in the first
corner. During the first four laps Borja was right behind Giao trying
to overtake him whenever there was the slightest possibility. Borja’s
attempts finally bore fruit in the fourth lap, when he out-braked
Giao and passed him on the inside of a corner. From this moment
on, Borja once more created a comfortable lead on Giao, leaving
no doubt about who is the fastest. In lap nine however, when the
safety car came onto the track because of a spin by Hernandez, Borja
lost this time advantage. At the restart on lap eleven, Borja once
again managed to escape Giao. After marking the fastest lap of the
race in lap thirteen with 1’36.175, he celebrated his second
well deserved victory of the day with an almost seven second gap.
Steven
Kane’s great start to race two had him jump from fourth into
third position and had Giao and Borja Garcia running just ahead
of him. Steven was still in third position when the safety car neutralized
the race. At the restart, Risatti overtook Steven before the starting
line and Steven, knowing that this will result in the penalization
of the Argentinean driver, didn’t want to put anything at risk
in an attempt to overtake him. Risatti after the race was given
a time penalty and therefore Steven re-gained the points of the
third position.
Maria
de Villota, after facing problems in her second qualifying session,
started fifteenth on the starting grid and overtook four competitors
in the first lap. She continued fighting for each position and finished
the race in eighth place. After Risatti’s penalization Maria
again moved up another place into seventh position.
Speaking following his two victories Borja Garcia remarked, “Everything
went really well this weekend. Before getting to Portugal I thought
this race weekend would be more difficult for me as we are at Giao’s
home track. There is never such a thing as an easy race and I was
for sure very motivated this weekend. Thanks to the great work of
my engineer, my mechanics and my entire team I achieved two victories
and took over the lead in the overall standings again.”
Racing
Engineering’s president, Alfonso de Orleans, stated, “Everyone
did an absolutely stunning job. Borja has left everyone amazed with
his abilities. With each race that goes by it is clear, we have
a future champion.”
Race 1:
1. Borja García (Racing Engineering), 25:43
2. Manuel Giao (GTA Motor Competición), +24’’554
3
3. Steven Kane (Racing Engineering), 29’’678
4. Andy Soucek (EV Racing), +31’’245
5. Sergio Hernández (Minardi ACM), +43’’572
6. Juan Cáceres (Eca Racing), 45’’434
7. Javier Villa (EV Racing), 46’’873
8. Ricardo Risatti (Igi Tec Auto), 49’’813
9. Roc Mas (Eca Racing), +57’’915
10. Alejandro Núñez (Meycom), +59’’986
Race 2:
1. Borja García (Racing Engineering), 29’44’’
2. Manuel Giao (GTA Motor Competición), +6’’795
3. Steven Kane (Racing Engineering), +8’’741
4. Andy Soucek (EV Racing), +9’’332
5. Alejandro Núñez (Meycom), +13’’457
6. Matías Milla (BCN F-3 Junior Team), +16’’ 288
7. María de Villota (Racing Engineering), +20’’370
8. Roc Mas (Eca Racing), +22’’071
9. Roldán Rodríguez (Minardi ACM), +23’’164
10. Dani Martín (ACM), +23’’411
Drivers
Championship:
1.Borja García, 82 pts.
2. Manuel Giao, 80 pts.
3. Steven Kane, 60 pts.
4. Ricardo Risatti, 42 pts.
5. Andy Soucek, 38 pts.
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