May
11
Nick Tandy: Mixed Weekend at Silverstone
Rounds 3 and 4 of this year’s British F3 championship brought mixed feelings for myself and the JTR team. 8th and 5th place finishes weren’t something we would have been aiming for after the strong start to the season we had at Oulton, but actually this weekend was a great case of damage limitation for our assault on the title.
All through free practice and into qualifying on Saturday we were badly struggling for pace. Silverstone GP is a very different type of track to Oulton Park and it seemed that certain parts of the track were not suiting the set-up of our Mygale Mercedes. Saturday night I was dreaming about a wet race day to give us a bit more of a chance to mix it but as it turned out our dry race pace was a lot better than our qualifying pace!
Two very interesting races, 12 places gained and a new lap record meant 12 very big points on a weekend that could have brought nothing.
With Rockingham up next, things are going to have to change if we are to challenge for the championship – most notably, beating that pesky Red Bull car that keeps winning races. However, the huge amount of effort that is being put in by Mygale and the JTR team means we will be in a stronger position to fight it out at the front, something I personally can’t wait for.
Speak soon
Nick