F3 History

Despite the ravages of Monaco the week before a good field of 21 runners arrived at Silverstone for the latest round of the Forward Trust Championship. Qualifying was a very close affair, the surprise package of Matt Spitzley in his updated March took pole position but the next six cars all set identical times with Brian Henton and Alan Jones, despite blowing his engine early in the practice session, joining Spitzley at the front. Interestingly long-time GRD runner Tony Brise was out in a brand new March 733 and was on the pace immediately. Brazilian Leonel Friedrich fell foul of one of the Silverstone hares, the March survived, the hare didn’t.

Jones made the best start from the front row to lead Brise and the rest, due to the newness of Brise’s car he was actually driving in bare feet as he didn’t fit into the tub too well, Henton assumed third position ahead of Kuwashima and Taylor. Mo Harness trying to make up for his lowly grid position tried an interesting new line through Becketts, backwards! He spun to the back of the field and immediately started on a great recovery drive. Poor Friedrich never even started the race as when a helpful marshall pushed his car after the Brazilian flooded the engine on the grid the rear wing broke. Brise moved his new March into the lead on lap 2 and immediately began to pull away from the rest as he hurled the car round the track in great opposite lock slides. Kuwashima further demoted Jones to third but the Japanese March was out on lap 5 when Kuwashima spun out at Copse when his gearbox siezed.