British Formula 3 Championship 2002 Round 5 and 6 review: Silverstone. Story by Andrew Frampton.
Wins at Silverstone for Mark Taylor, and more importantly Robbie Kerr, saw the latter move into a clear lead in the championship, as title favourite James Courtney faltered again.
Kerr could only line up seventh in qualifying for the first race, as the Brazilian Fabio Carbone continued his impressive testing form with pole position, just edging out Taylor and Heikki Kovalainen. Adam Carroll continued his dominant form in the Scholarship class with sixth overall on the grid, just behind Courtney.
As Carbone struggled off the line, he was swamped by Taylor and Kovalainen, the trio converging at the first corner, where Taylor and Carbone touched, puncturing the latter's tyre and forcing him into the pits later that lap. Taylor escaped from the skirmish with a slender lead, as Kovalainen held off the charging Carroll. Courtney, demoted to sixth by Carroll at the start, then made contact with his team-mate Michael Keohane at Stowe, the Australian not leaving the Irishman quite enough room to pass, punctured his tyre in the process. With a disgruntled Courtney forced into the pits and out of contention, Keohane had to battle to keep Kerr behind him with a dishevelled wing.
Despite running with a clear track in front of him, Taylor was unable to extend his advantage, although he was aided when Kovalainen's gearbox gave up the ghost on lap nine. This allowed Carroll into second, but he could not close on the leader, eventually finishing four seconds in arrears. This promoted Keohane to third, the Irishman holding off Kerr to flag, with the American Richard Antinucci in fifth and Bruce Jouanny in sixth. Overshadowed by Carroll's performance at the front of the field, the remainder of the Scholarship Class was left to battle for second - a position claimed by Karun Chandok, who finished ahead of Mohammed Fairuz, after Stephen Colbert threw the position away on the final lap.
Courtney took pole position for the second round, and after finishing 25th in the first race, was hoping for a major points haul in the second race. Alongside on the front row was Kerr, with Carroll third from Taylor, Kovalainen and Carbone.
As at Brands Hatch and Donington Park, Courtney failed to convert his pole position into the lead, as Carroll swept through to head Kerr and Kovalainen into Copse for the first time. One lap later, and Kerr was through to the front, after Carroll got sideways into the first corner, while behind, Courtney spun down to eighth position.
Things got worse for the Scholarship Class leader, when on the following lap, he made a mess of Copse once again, this time running into the gravel trap and dropping to the back of the field. This was good news for Kerr, now unchallenged, he stretched his lead at the front, holding it to the finish and recording a comprehensive seven-second victory. Kovalainen jumped into second after Carroll's demise, and despite pressure from Taylor, held the position to the end. Jouanny took fourth, but only after fending off the recovering Courtney, who took fifth from Carbone, Keohane and Judice. As Carroll struggled to fourth position in the Scholarship Class, his team-mate Billy Asaro took the class victory, from Clivio Piccione and Stefan Hodgetts.
Race One Result:
1. Mark Taylor
2. Adam Carroll
3. Michael Keohane
4. Robbie Kerr
5. Richard Antinucci
6. Bruce Jouanny
Scholarship Class: Adam Carroll
Race Two Results:
1. Robbie Kerr
2. Heikki Kovalainen
3. Mark Taylor
4. Bruce Jouanny
5. James Courtney
6. Fabio Carbone
Scholarship Class: Billy Asaro
Championship Class Standings:
1. Robbie Kerr 84pts
2. James Courtney 71pts
3. Bruce Jouanny 59pts
4. Michael Keohane 59pts
5. Mark Taylor 54pts
6. Rob Austin 36pts
Scholarship Class Standings:
1. Adam Carroll 95pts
2. Clivio Piccione 52pts
3. Billy Asaro 52pts
4. Jesper Carlsen 47pts
5. Karun Chandok 47pts
6. Stephen Colbert 38pts
2002 British F3 season calendar
01/04 - Brands Hatch GP by AF
14/04 - Donington Park Nat by AF
05/05 - Silverstone GP by AF
12/05 - Knockhill by AF
26/05 - Croft by AF
03/06 - Silverstone Int by AF.
23/06 - Castle Combe by AF
30/06 - Brands Hatch Indy by AF
21/07 - Rockingham
18/08 - Oulton Park
01/09 - Snetterton
15/09 - Thruxton
22/09 - Donington Park GP
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