Jack Ebrey Photography

BRANDS HATCH 19 JUNE 2011: Championship leader Felipe Nasr claimed a brilliant fourth win of his Cooper Tires British Formula 3 season at Brands Hatch this afternoon, the Carlin driver mastering the treacherous wet track to claim victory by a 24-second margin. Lucas Foresti and Will Buller completed the podium to cap an excellent weekend for the Fortec team.

Heavy showers before the start meant a full set of wet-weather tyres was the only option for the field but, unlike yesterday’s round 10, a further downpour mid-way through the race denied the crowd the excitement of pit stops and tyre strategy.

Rupert Svendsen-Cook led the way for Carlin for the opening six laps, but Nasr – who had snatched second from Adderly Fong on the opening lap – was on his tail throughout and not about to be denied. Graham Hill Bend on the seventh lap was the Brazilian’s selected spot to execute the pass, which he performed perfectly to seize the lead and demote Svendsen-Cook to second. That was the last Nasr’s pursuers saw of him, despite a brief safety car period while the stranded car of Pipo Derani, which had been in collision with that of Max Snegirev, was retrieved from a tricky spot.

Nasr, whose victory margin was the largest of the season so far, said: “It was a very exciting race. At the beginning it seemed like a repeat of yesterday; the track was drying out very quickly and I thought we would struggle towards the end, but then the rain came again: perfect for us. The car was just great, I made no mistakes and it has been a brilliant weekend.” Felipe’s title lead over Foresti is now 45 points.

Svendsen-Cook’s second came under pressure from Hitech man Pietro Fantin, the Brazilian’s impatience to pass boiling over five laps from the end, when he tried an ambitious pass around the outside at Paddock Hill Bend. Their cars made contact and spun, Rupert limping to the pits and retirement.

This collision promoted Foresti to second; the Brazilian admitted he was somewhat fortunate: “I was a bit lucky maybe. I was fast but I didn’t put everything together to win. There were a few mistakes, unfortunately. But I still made second place and it is great for Fortec to have second and third also.” Lucas’s efforts were further rewarded with the Sunoco Driver of the Weekend trophy.

Buller made steady progress from sixth on the grid, picking up a place when Kevin Magnussen pitted for repairs to a damaged front wing. He was then boosted to third by the Fantin/Svendsen-Cook clash. Jazeman Jaafar, with whom Buller had made contact in the morning race, followed the Ulsterman home for fourth, ahead of Carlos Huertas. The Colombian endured a nightmare opening lap, slipping to 10th from fourth on the grid, but recovered to fifth by the end.

Racing Steps Foundation driver Jack Harvey claimed by far his best finish of the season with sixth spot, ahead of Hywel Lloyd (the sole surviving Sino Vision Racing car, after Fong spun off), Scott Pye and Harry Tincknell. Fantin crossed the line 10th.

There were no alarms or excursions this time for Bart Hylkema on his way to his eighth Rookie class victory of the season; the Dutch T-Sport man kept ahead of his class rival Kotaro Sakurai all the way to the flag with a level-headed drive in the tricky conditions.

British Formula 3 enjoys the headlining support of Cooper Tires and is additionally backed by Sunoco Racing Fuels, Anglo American Oil Company and OAMPS.

Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series

Round 12, Brands Hatch 19/6/2011

26 laps / 63.27 miles

Provisional results Championship class

1  Felipe NASR / BRA,  Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen  41m 05.110s / 92.39mph

2  Lucas FORESTI / BRA,  Fortec Dallara-Mercedes  +24.531s

3  William BULLER /GBR,  Fortec Dallara-Mercedes  +26.884s

4  Jazeman JAAFAR / MAS,  Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen  +28.804s

5  Carlos HUERTAS / COL,  Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen  +30.414s

6  Jack HARVEY / GBR,  Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen  +34.220s

7  Hywel LLOYD / GBR,  Sino Vision Dallara-Mercedes  +37.916s

8  Scott PYE / AUS,  Double R Dallara-Mercedes  +38.507s

9  Harry TINCKNELL / GBR,  Fortec Dallara-Mercedes  +42.419s

10  Pietro FANTIN / BRA,  Hitech Dallara-Volkswagen  +44.488s etc

Rookie class

1  Bart HYLKEMA / NED,  T-Sport Dallara-Mugen Honda  +1m 22.396s

2  Kotaro SAKURAI / JPN,  Hitech Dallara-Mugen Honda  +1m 25.172s

Fastest lap Kevin MAGNUSSEN / DEN 1m 30.496s / 96.79mph

Full TSL timesheets http://bit.ly/m2SV8Q

Provisional championship standings

1 Nasr 154 points; 2 Foresti 109; 3 Huertas 95; 4 Jaafar 94; 5 Buller 63; 6= Rupert Svendsen-Cook & Magnussen 61 etc

Rookie class

1 Hylkema 161; 2 Sakurai 119.