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Sunday, 08 July 2012 20:50 |
 GP3 Series report and result from Silverstone circuit - Carlin’s William Buller stormed to first win in chaotic Silverstone race for a Carlin record setting double win on home soil in Round 4.
Buller claimed his maiden victory in GP3 today in a race that was full of drama and excitement until the very end!
It concluded a fantastic weekend for Carlin after achieving their first win in the Series on Saturday with Antonio Felix Da Costa and then sealing a double victory at home in front of a massive crowd.
With light rain starting to fall as the drivers were on the grid preparing, strategic calls came into play and it was Carlin and Buller who made the brave decision to start on slick tyres as the rain fell.
Pole man Kevin Ceccon made a good start but it was Marussia Manor Racing’s Tio Ellinas who got the jump on front row man Alex Brundle (the latter starting on slicks).
Also on the move was Series leader Mitch Evans who surged through from seventh to third. The battle was on as Felix Da Costa and the New Zealander fought over third place with the Portuguese star on a mission and finding a way through.
Ellinas was not content with second and soon set after race leader Ceccon and made his way to P1 by the end of the first lap. By lap 3, Ellinas had pulled a 3.2 second margin as the drivers got to grips with tricky and changeable conditions.
The majority of the field started on wets and for some their tyres soon started to fade away as the rain that was expected to come down, didn’t.
Felix Da Costa moved up to P2 passing Ceccon, whilst Evans began to struggle with his tyres and was overtaken by Daniel Abt (Lotus GP) and soon had to defend from team-mate Matias Laine.
With the track drying it soon became evident that the quicker tyre to be on were the slicks, as demonstrated by Buller who began setting purple sectors and fastest laps.
Jenzer Motorsport’s Patric Niederhauser and Robert Visoiu began their charge through the pack on the wet tyre and began to take advantage.
Ellinas remained in front ahead of Felix Da Costa, Niederhauser, Ceccon and Visoiu while Mitch Evans spun at turn 7 and at the midway point of the race came in for tyre change.
Buller was climbing his way up to P6 at this point with Conor Daly (Lotus GP) also on the up.
There was a new race leader after Niederhauser overtook both Felix Da Costa and Ellinas and looked in a dominant position in P1.
Ellinas also pitted for slicks from P2 whilst Buller continued to set an impressive pace on slicks moving to P2. The Brit was all over the back of the Swiss for the lead and he grabbed P1 and pulled out a large gap.
The track conditions started to catch the drivers out with Alice Powell ending her race in gravel, soon to be followed by Abt. Before Abt could climb out of his car Marlon Stockinger (Status Grand Prix) joined him for a company, tapping the Lotus GP car after spinning off in the same place.
There was drama still to come with one of the main contenders for the GP3 crown, Aaro Vainio (Lotus GP) hitting the back of Laine and sending his car up into the air. That was a premature end to the Finn’s race and no points.
Buller continued to increase his advantage over the front whilst Daly (who started on slicks) rose to P2 passing Niederhauser. The Brit crossed the chequered flag with an eight second lead to celebrate his maiden victory, with Daly enjoying a solid points score.
Niederhauser hung onto the final spot on the rostrum after nursing his wet tyres home to finish ahead of Ellinas, Visoiu, Felix Da Costa and Ceccon. The final point went to Atech CRS GP new driver Fabio Gamberini making his debut here at Silverstone.
With the top two in the Drivers Standings failing to score points, Evans continues to hold his 11 point advantage over Vainio with Felix Da Costa closing the gap in third.
GP3 Series is back in action at Hockenheim in Germany on 20-22 July 2012.
William Buller
“It's fantastic to have taken my first GP3 victory, and to get it in my home race and from the back of the grid is even more special. The first race was disappointing as I was forced wide at turn one and was then hit as I rejoined, which damaged the suspension. There was nothing I could do and it meant I was really on the back foot for race two.
“I knew from qualifying that we had the pace as I missed out on setting a quick time because of yellow flags, so when it was damp on Sunday morning I knew we had a chance. I have plenty of experience of racing in those conditions from British F3 and it was a case of just being careful early on.
"After the first few laps I could see that the guys on wets didn't have an advantage over me, so I just got my head down and the race came to me. I had to be patient and not make any stupid moves but I was so much quicker than the guys on wets and it was a great feeling to cross the line and secure the victory.
“It's great for Carlin to get two wins in a weekend and to take their first victories in GP3, but it's also a massive boost for me as the step into GP3 has been a challenge after two seasons in F3. I knew it would take time to get up to speed with a new car and new tyres and hopefully this result will be the springboard for more strong results in the second half of the season.” (Buller quote courtesy Matt Salisbury)
Kevin Ceccon
"It was a difficult weekend but also a positive one. The fact that we secured points in both races is good for the team, for morale, and for the championship. Unfortunately, the choice of tyres was not obvious this Sunday, and in the end we did not make the right one, and I was not able to stay in the front."
Robert Cregan
"I made it to the end of both races, it was very difficult but I learned a lot of things. I was fairly close to finishing in the top 10 in the second race and I think that we are on the right path to achieve this objective."
Mitch Evans
“I made a mega start, up from seventh to third, but it was soon clear that the car was understeering and that hurt the tyres more and more as the race went on. I eventually pitted for slicks when the track dried and it took a couple of laps to bring them up to temperature. The car was really good in the closing stages and I was able to recover to 11th, but my bid to get fastest lap was thwarted by traffic. It’s a mystery to have been so slow on wets and the result is a disappointment, but Aaro Vainio didn’t score, either, so I didn’t suffer too much in the title race.”
Matias Laine
“I made a good start and thought I was set for a strong result, but then the track dried and it was inevitable that the tyres would suffer. I tried to carry on, but started losing positions to the guys that started on slicks and it was obvious that I’d have to change, too. After my stop I was just trying to finish as high as possible, but Vainio ran into me and that was that. Hopefully I’ll have better fortune in Germany.”
2012 GP3 Britain - Silverstone Race 2 results:
| Pos. |
Driver |
Team |
| 1. |
William Buller |
Carlin |
| 2. |
Conor Daly |
Lotus GP |
| 3. |
Patric Niederhauser |
Jenzer Motorsport |
| 4. |
Tio Ellinas |
Marussia Manor Racing |
| 5. |
Robert Visoiu |
Jenzer Motorsport |
| 6. |
Antonio Felix Da Costa |
Carlin |
| 7. |
Kevin Ceccon |
Ocean Racing Technology |
| 8. |
Fabio Gamberini |
Atech CRS GP |
| 9. |
Fabiano Machado |
Marussia Manor Racing |
| 10. |
Alex Brundle |
Carlin |
| 11. |
Mitch Evans |
MW Arden |
| 12. |
Facu Regalia |
Jenzer Motorsport |
| 13. |
Kotaro Sakurai |
Status Grand Prix |
| 14. |
Tamas Pal Kiss |
Atech CRS GP |
| 15. |
Robert Cregan |
Ocean Racing Technology |
| 16. |
Giovanni Venturini |
Trident Racing |
| 17. |
Ethan Ringel |
Atech CRS GP |
| 18. |
Matias Laine |
MW Arden |
| 19. |
Antonio Spavone |
Trident Racing |
| 20. |
Dmitry Suranovich |
Marussia Manor Racing |
| 21. |
Vicky Piria |
Trident Racing |
| NC. |
Daniel Abt |
Lotus GP |
| NC. |
Marlon Stockinger |
Status Grand Prix |
| NC. |
Aaro Vainio |
Lotus GP |
| NC. |
Alice Powell |
Status Grand Prix |
Fastest lap: Tio Ellinas - Marussia Manor Racing : 1'59.829 on lap 14
F1SA.com
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