British Formula 3 Championship 2002 Round 14 and 15 review: Brands Hatch Indy. Story by Andrew Frampton.
Robbie Kerr closed the gap to championship leader James Courtney with a double victory on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit.
Qualifying for the first of the Championship Class races saw Kerr plant his Alan Docking racing machine on pole position, with the Carlin Motorsport car of Michael Keohane alongside. Rob Austin, in a welcome return to form for the Menu F3 team, took third spot on the grid, ahead of Castle Combe victor Alan Van Der Merve and Fabio Carbone. Courtney lined up only sixth, 0.3 seconds off the pace.
At the start, Kerr made an excellent getaway to lead Keohane into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time. Austin and Van der Merve kept their grid formation as the pack jostled for position over the opening tour, but from that point onwards, the top six positions remained static. Kerr gradually edged away from Keohane, setting the race's fastest lap in the progress, taking the chequered flag by just over two seconds. Keohane was more comfortable in second position, as he led home Austin, who had stayed ahead of the closing Carlin car of Van der Merve. His team-mate Courtney had not been so lucky, losing sixth position to Bruce Jouanny early on and never being able to re-pass the Promatecme machine, which came close to ousting Carbone from fifth late on. James Andanson, Shinya Hosokawa and Mathew Gilmore completed the top ten.
The Scholarship Class enjoyed a stand-alone first race, which saw Clivio Piccione on pole position from Robert Dahlgren and the improving Karun Chandok. Class leader Adam Carroll was only 10th after missing the opening part of the session after oversleeping! If the Championship Class race had been uneventful up front, the 'junior' class was anything but, as Piccione and Dahlgren fought tooth-and-nail for victory, which eventually went Dahlgren's way by just 0.2 seconds. Billy Asaro beat his Sweeney Racing team-mate Carroll to the final podium spot.
Qualifying for the combined race saw Kerr secure another pole position, just 0.1 seconds ahead of Keohane. Courtney had fared better in the second session and took third, ahead of Carbone, Jouanny and the Scholarship Class runner Piccione, who took sixth outright. His nearest challenger in class, Carroll, was three places further back.
Kerr made his second excellent start of the weekend to lead the field once again, while behind, Keohane and Carbone clashed resulting in damage to both cars. Although both plugged on, Carbone's car was wounded, and drivers behind had to take avoiding action to miss the slowing Fortec car. Piccione's advantage in the Scholarship Class came to nothing when he braked to avoid Carbone's car and was collected by Carroll. The action continued as Stephen Colbert ran into the back of Carbone at Surtees forcing both them and Gavin Smith and Jesper Carlsen out of the event. Although Kerr's advantage was wiped out by the appearance of the Safety Car, he maintained his lead when racing resumed, and cruised to an eight-second victory from Courtney and Jouanny. Van der Merve, Heikki Kovalainen and Carroll completed the top six finishers, with the latter claiming the Scholarship Class spoils.
The next round of the championship takes the cars to the infield circuit at the Rockingham Oval in Northamptonshire.
Championship Class Race One Result:
1. Robbie Kerr
2. Michael Keohane +2.129s
3. Rob Austin +9.929s
4. Alan Van der Merve +10.348s
5. Fabio Carbone +11.095s
6. Bruce Jouanny +12.192s
Scholarship Class Race One Result:
1. Robert Dahlgren
2. Clivio Piccione +0.202s
3. Billy Asaro +6.787s
4. Adam Carroll +9.616s
5. Gavin Smith +10.181s
6. Stephen Colbert +10.370s
Combined Race Two Result:
1. Robbie Kerr
2. James Courtney +8.402s
3. Bruce Jouanny +13.766s
4. Alan Van der Merve +15.586s
5. Heikki Kovalainen +16.086s
6. Adam Carroll (s) +16.889s
(s) - Scholarship Class
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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