- AMERICAN EDWARDS LEADS THE PACK IN BRITISH F3
-
- Californian Star Paul Edwards made a strong impression at
the opening
round of the 2001 British Formula 3 Championship. The excitement
rang
from the track announcer as the American Paul Edwards had taken
the lead
in his first ever Formula 3 race, and the excitement continued
from lap
to lap.
-
- Edwards had rocketed off his 4th place starting spot veering
between
those in front of him. At the first turn he made a spectacular
pass on
the outside of pole sitter Jamie Spence. They continued to battle
to
Beckett's Corner, banging wheel to wheel at the famed Silverstone
International Race Circuit until Edwards gained the advantage.
- "As I rounded the corner, I could see I had pulled away.
It felt so
good - I was actually leading the first race."
-
- Edwards continued to pull away over a 2 second lead and even
caught up
to the back of the pack and lapped one of the 38 drivers. The
rear
tires had overheated and the car developed a severe lack of front-end
grip. He found it harder to get the car turned into the corners.
This
allowed several drivers to squeeze by Edwards.
-
- At the end of the race, the Alan Docking Racing's Doug Mockett
& Co.
Dallara-Mugen/Honda of Paul Edwards finished in the fourth spot.
"It
would have been nice to claim a podium position, however in this
opening
round, this was a very satisfying championship points position.
I know
I am going to be a real championship contender this season."
-
- For the second race of the day, Edwards would start 12th
on the grid due
to handling problems during qualifying. He had made some changes
to his
car and felt very confident. Again, he made a good start and
was
battling for 10th position when there was contact with Manor
Motorsport
driver Mark Taylor at Abey hairpin. This unfortunately took Edwards
out
of contention for another points finish.
-
- "I am disappointed with the outcome of the second race.
The car felt
very good and I know it would have been possible to get another
top 6
finish. I went to overtake down the inside and he turned into
me
bending the front tracking and damaging the wing."
-
- Edwards finished the day claiming 10 championship points
to put him 6th
in the standings. The next race meeting will be held in 2 weeks
at the
Snetterton Circuit. "I am looking forward to getting to
Snetterton
because we have gone very quick there in pre-season tests."
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