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MACAU DISAPPOINTMENT FOR MANOR AS BIRD’S WINGS ARE CLIPPED 

Dinnington based Formula 3 team Manor Motorsport saw its bid for glory in the 55th staging of the Windsor Arch Macau F3 Grand Prix unfortunately come unstuck today, Sunday, 16th November, when lead driver Sam Bird was eliminated on the opening lap at Guia Street Circuit. 

As the quickest of Manor’s three participants during qualifying on Friday, the Surrey based racer produced the second fastest time – missing out on pole position during the final seconds of the session. However, a three place grid penalty was subsequently handed to Bird after he missed a weigh-bridge check during morning practice. 

Nonetheless, he went into Saturday’s qualification race fifth on the grid and ended the outing in the same position to progress to today’s 55th Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix itself with a great chance of battling for a podium result. 

Bird’s participation in today’s race lasted only as far as the run to Mandarin Bend though when Roberto Streit collided with him, resulting in a double retirement. Streit was fined for causing the accident but that was scant consolation to Bird and Manor who truly had the pace to fight for a rostrum finish at the very least. 

Yorkshire’s Jon Lancaster, making his competitive Manor Motorsport debut, ended his first ever appearance at Macau with a highly creditable 11th place finish in the main Grand Prix race, just nine 10ths of a second shy of the top 10 having started in 13th position. 

Lining up an un characteristic 23rd on the grid for the qualification race after not being able to get the clear lap he wanted, he drove brilliantly to achieve a 13th place result. Into the main race, Lancaster proved he had the pace to finish comfortably inside the top 10 and just ended up missing out, finishing right on the tail of 2008 British F3 Champion Jaime Alguersuari. 

For Japan’s Kazuya Oshima, a series of very unfortunate problems blighted his chances and the Toyota Driver Programme member concluded the Grand Prix in 16th position.  

Having been forced to retire from Saturday’s qualification race with a broken gearbox and thus forced to start today’s headline encounter from 23rd on the grid, contact at the first corner saw the Manor racer pick-up damage to his front wing which compromised his pace. 

“We’re very disappointed with how the race turned out for Sam, we had the pace to be on the podium for sure and probably fight for the win too but the contact from Roberto (Streit) ruined that”, commented Manor team owner John Booth. 

“Jon had a decent run on his first time at Macau, he missed a lot of track time during a couple of the sessions during the build-up so to finish just outside the top 10 wasn’t bad at all and he can take a lot of positives from that. 

“Kazuya had to start down in 23rd for today’s race after a broken gearbox ruled him out of Saturday’s qualification race. Then he got a broken wing at the first corner bottle-neck today so that made things very difficult for him. It’s been a disappointing visit to Macau for us in the end but as Sam proved in qualifying, we had a very quick car and the potential to do very well.”

MANOR SIGNS OFF F3 EUROSERIES WITH HOCKENHEIM PODIUM 

Manor Motorsport’s Koudai Tsukakoshi took his fourth runner-up position of the 2008 Formula 3 Euroseries at Hockenheim in Germany this morning, Sunday, 26th October, during a fairly chaotic final race of the season. 

Round 20 certainly didn’t turn out the way drivers and teams had expected with three major accidents resulting in a trio of Safety Car periods – the last of the three bringing an early conclusion to Sunday’s encounter. 

Japanese star Tsukakoshi, who has been Dinnington-based Manor’s most successful driver of the 2008 campaign, wasn’t quite able to secure a victory during the year but his fourth second position – from the front row of the grid – did lift him into equal sixth place in the final championship standings on 36 points. 

Honda Racing’s young protégé also secured a top seven finish during Saturday’s 19th round of the season. Having qualified with the seventh fastest time, he was handed a five place grid penalty due to an incident during the previous event at Le Mans, France. 

Therefore lining up 12th at the start of race one, Tsukakoshi charged through to a well deserved points result, again making him the highest placed Manor driver. 

He said: “Unfortunately the second race was very short and it was stopped so I couldn’t start any attempts to overtake. Second place today is a good way to round off my season as I won’t race at Macau next month. I hope to be back in Formula 3 Euroseries next year.” 

For British driver Sam Bird, the final meeting of his maiden season in F3 Euroseries didn’t turn out the way he had hoped with no points to show for his efforts. Qualifying 10th fastest for the opening race of the weekend, the Surrey driver started in ninth due to his team-mate’s misfortune but ended the encounter in 17th place. 

Running strongly early on in the top 10, Bird did slip a place a handful of laps into the race before getting back into 10th position on lap 15 at the expense of Erik Janis. Five laps from the end, however, the Manor driver was handed a drive-through penalty for ‘leaving the track’ at Turn One and so after pitting he rejoined down the order. 

Sunday’s race was over in a flash for Bird when he was forced to pit with damage after a robust opening lap. Just two corners into round 20, Bird was caught up in contact involving Richard Philippe and Frederic Vervisch, resulting in a very disappointing conclusion to the season for the talented young racer. 

Kazuya Oshima, Manor’s only race winner this year, started Saturday’s race from 18th on the grid but was taken out of proceedings early on following contact at the hairpin during the aftermath of a large accident for Brendon Hartley. 

Placing him stone last for race two, the Japanese racer could do no more than finish in 19th place due to the total lack of racing mileage available after the three Safety Car interventions and the eventual red flag. 

Speaking at the end of the weekend, Manor team owner John Booth said: “Obviously the second race was shocking with all of the accidents but it was great to end the season on the podium with Koudai, the result was a much needed boost for everyone. For Kazuya it was a difficult weekend but at least he came through it unscathed. 

“Sam was unfortunate not to score on Saturday and then today he had a bent rear push-rod which ruled him out of race two. He was hit in a first corner tangle and when he got to the hairpin he couldn’t turn in as the wheel was already up in the air – that’s why he ran wide and then came into the pits to retire.” 

BIRD TAKES SECOND F3 EURO PODIUM OF 2008 AT LE MANS 

Sam Bird continued his impressive run of recent form during round 17 of the Formula 3 Euroseries at the Le Mans Bugatti Circuit in France on Saturday, 4th October – the Manor Motorsport driver taking his second podium result in as many race meetings. 

Having secured his maiden category rostrum during race one of the previous event at Barcelona in Spain a fortnight ago, the British star provided Dinnington-based Manor with another terrific finish after climbing from fourth on the grid to second place in the first of the weekend’s races at Le Mans. 

Starting Saturday afternoon’s encounter from the second row of the grid after producing a time of 1m 32.023 seconds (163.720 km/h) during Friday afternoon’s qualifying session, Bird immediately passed third placed starter – and soon to be crowned 2008 champion – Nico Hulkenberg after the German stalled on the grid. 

Forced onto the grass by front-row starter Stefano Coletti early on, Bird made his way into second place after his rival had a spin on lap three and then comfortably remained in the runner-up spot all the way to the chequered flag on lap 27.  

Speaking after the race, the 21-year-old commented: “After the start, Stefano Coletti pushed me onto the grass so I was only in third place over the first few metres. After he spun out, I moved up into second. Jules Bianchi (pole sitter and race winner) was in a league of his own, I had no chance to follow him.” 

Manor team-mate Koudai Tsukakoshi, who lined up fifth on the grid thanks to a best lap of 1m 32.068 seconds (163.640 km/h), also benefited from Hulkenberg’s stall and ran very competitively in fourth place, tantalisingly close to another podium just 0.5 seconds shy of Finnish driver Mika Maki in third. 

Kazuya Oshima took the third Manor car to 22nd position from 25th on the grid. After the race though, he gained a further place at the expense of French driver Franck Mailleux who was handed a 30 second time penalty. 

The grid for the 18th round of the campaign on Sunday, 5th October, saw Tsukakoshi and Bird start in fifth and seventh positions respectively – due to the reversal of the top eight finishers from the opening encounter of the weekend – with Oshima in 21st place. 

Dark clouds gathered above Le Mans prior to the encounter and no sooner had the race got underway than the rain started to fall. With all drivers on slick tyres conditions proved tricky but, even so, Japanese star Tsukakoshi moved into the top four while Bird climbed as high as fifth before being nudged back to seventh. 

Unfortunately, Bird then had a spin when challenging for sixth place at the final corner on lap one and he rejoined all the way down in 23rd position. While other drivers fell by the wayside, Oshima ran well and by lap five he was into 13th place. 

On lap six, with rain continuing to fall, red flags were shown after Jon Lancaster crashed out of the race when duelling with Tsukakoshi. Just prior to the stoppage, Tsukakoshi was fifth, Bird had recovered into 14th place and Oshima was 16th. 

Following a delay of around 20 minutes, the race re-started with the majority of drivers on wet tyres and a handful electing to gamble on slicks. However, the length of the break resulted in a re-start over just eight minutes or so which began behind the Safety Car. 

On the first flying lap, Brendan Hartley had a spin which allowed Tsukakoshi to move back into fourth place and that’s where the Honda Racing backed sensation would remain to the chequered flag at the end of the fourth lap. Bird climbed three places into 11th with Toyota Development Programme star Oshima close behind in 12th place. 

Due to the fact less than 75 per cent of the scheduled race distance was covered after the interruption part way through, only half points were scored today. Added to the previous totals, this means Tsukakoshi is Manor’s best placed driver in eighth position in the championship standings. 

OSHIMA CLAIMS MAIDEN F3 EUROSERIES WIN IN BARCELONA 

Dinnington based Formula 3 Euroseries team Manor Motorsport enjoyed a return to the winner’s circle at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona on Sunday, 21st September, with Japanese star Kazuya Oshima claiming his maiden category win from pole position. 

The Toyota Development Programme backed racer, who is taking part in his first season of F3 Euroseries competition this year, has had some misfortune so far but everything came good over the weekend during rounds 15 and 16 as he enjoyed, by far, his most successful outing of the championship. 

Rising from 18th on the grid to eighth position in race one, his result also saw him claim pole position for the second encounter by virtue of the fact in F3 Euroseries the finishing order from the opening race on any given weekend sets the grid order for race two – with the exception of the top eight which is reversed. 

Securing his maiden pole position start, the 21-year-old reigning All-Japan Formula 3 and Super GT300 Series Champion made a perfect getaway and was never headed as he steered his Mercedes powered Dallara chassis to a 3.5 second winning margin – the team’s first triumph of 2008. 

After securing his maiden points in Barcelona, a delighted Oshima said: “It is just great, especially as my season has been very difficult so far and I didn’t score any good results before this weekend.” 

The event certainly proved to be quite fruitful for John Booth’s renowned team with British star Sam Bird finishing second during the first of the weekend’s races, having started round 15 sixth on the grid. He also posted the fourth fastest lap of the race with a time of 1m 07.499 seconds. 

Running in third place as the race passed mid-distance, Bird took second on lap 22 when then leader Yann Clairay missed his braking point at turn one to allow Nico Hulkenberg through into first position and Bird into second. 

“Being on the podium is just great”, said Bird, “It has been quite a long time for me without a podium, which wasn’t easy. I had a good start and benefited from the accident at the start between Jules Bianchi and Richard Philippe. When Nico (Hulkenberg) overtook Yann (Clairay) I could get past as well.” 

In Sunday’s race, which Bird started from seventh position on the reverse grid, he was only able to manage an 18th place finish after being spun out at the first corner by German driver Hulkenberg.  

Manor team-mates Niall Breen and Koudai Tsukakoshi didn’t have the best of weekends although the Irishman did at least take a couple of solid finishes – 16th position in race one and 15th place in race two. 

Honda Racing protégé Tsukakoshi endured one of his most frustrating outings of the year. After being taken out on the opening lap of round 15 on Saturday, he ended Sunday’s 16th round six laps down in 24th position after yet more dramas following contact from another driver.
Speaking at the conclusion of the weekend, Manor team boss Booth said: “It was a fantastic win for Kazuya, he drove very well and from a team perspective it’s great to be back on the top step of the podium.  

“Unfortunately Sam was spun out at the first corner which was a shame as he’d made a very good start and it was disappointing after such a good podium on Saturday. Niall had a couple of steady races but Koudai had a lot of misfortune – it was a nightmare for him. 

“Kazuya was a bit fortuitous to get the reverse grid pole position for Sunday’s race as he picked up eighth place in Saturday’s race with just a couple of laps to go but it was deserved nonetheless. It’s not been a bad weekend at all for Manor Motorsport.”

BRANDS HATCH PODIUM FOR TSUKAKOSHI 

Japanese racer Koudai Tsukakoshi achieved his third podium result of the Formula 3 Euroseries campaign at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit over the weekend, 30th/31st August, Manor Motorsport’s fifth rostrum of 2008. 

The British squad, which is based in Dinnington near Worksop, immediately hit the ground running during testing at the Kent venue on Friday, 29th August, and looked well placed to have at least two cars on the front couple of rows of the grid for round 13. 

Locking out row two with Tsukakoshi third fastest, 41.782 seconds (166.206 km/h), and British star Sam Bird fourth quickest, 41.795 seconds (166.154 km/h), the team was also represented well by Irishman Niall Breen in ninth place. Kazuya Oshima qualified in 14th position for the opening race of the weekend. 

With so many cars competing on the short Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, the drivers were split into two groups so in actual fact Tsukakoshi and Bird were second fastest in their respective sessions. 

Tsukakoshi made a good start to the race and was almost in a position to take second place away from Nico Hulkenberg but couldn’t quite make the pass stick. The Honda Racing backed driver held third until mid-distance when race leader Jules Bianchi pitted for a drive-through penalty, enabling Tsukakoshi to move into second place. 

He remained there to the chequered flag, crossing the line six seconds behind winner Hulkenberg but a huge 15 seconds clear of third placed Yann Clairay. 

For Bird, the race was a complete disaster after he was pitched into a spin off the grid by countryman, and former Manor driver, James Jakes. Eliminating Bird on the spot, the chance of a double podium finish for the team ended there too. Oshima crashed out of the race on lap 20 while Breen was hit with some penalties. 

For race two, Tsukakoshi started in seventh position – the top eight finishers from the opening encounter each weekend are always reversed in F3 Euroseries to determine the first four rows of the race two grid – while Oshima lined up in 22nd, Bird 24th and Breen in 26th and last position. 

Sunday’s encounter was a typical Brands Hatch Indy Circuit race with little in the way of action. Tsukakoshi came home in eighth position, Bird climbed five places into 19th, Breen followed him home in 20th with Oshima just behind in 21st.

Manor Motorsport team owner John Booth said: “Qualifying went very well, Koudai and Sam were both excellent but at the start of the first race Sam was taken out by (James) Jakes. He was out on the spot, weekend over really for him already at that point. 

“Koudai raced well and second place was a good result, he deserved to be on the podium it was just a shame what happened with Sam as we could have had two drivers up there. Niall had a drive-through penalty and Kazuya shunted out of the race so it wasn’t great for them” 

Booth added: “Sunday’s race was very uneventful, a typical Brands Hatch Indy race. As a team, we were very quick this weekend and right on the pace from the off during testing on Friday. Other than Koudai’s podium though, things just didn’t go our way which was a real shame.” 

As things currently stand in the drivers championship, Tsukakoshi is Manor’s highest placed driver in ninth position on 24 points, just 10 points shy of fourth place and only three points away from the top five. In the team standings, Manor is in fifth place.

BRITISH  BIRD FLIES THROUGH F3 MASTERS FIELD AT ZOLDER

Manor Motorsport’s Sam Bird produced an outstanding raceday performance at Zolder in Belgium on Sunday, 10th August, to finish a highly creditable seventh overall in the 2008 RTL GP Masters of Formula 3 – the most high profile F3 event in Europe. 

Although an unlucky qualifying session left the 21-year-old with a literal mountain to climb in the race, he performed brilliantly in tricky, wet conditions by rising from 22nd on the grid – avoiding several incidents along the way – to claim a deserved top seven finish as the highest placed Manor driver. 

For Bird’s three team-mates, Koudai Tsukakoshi, Niall Breen and Kazuya Oshima, the race was less favourable. Breen and Oshima both fell victim to tyre choice issues, the circuit very wet following earlier rain, while Tsukakoshi was forced out of the race mere yards from the grid following contact from Dutchman Renger van der Zande. 

With pole-sitter Nico Hulkenberg making a sluggish getaway, both Tsukakoshi and van der Zande had an opportunity to make gains on the run to the first turn. As the Manor racer attempted to negotiate the German’s car following his tardy getaway though, van der Zande turned into the Japanese star to end his race there and then. 

Bitterly disappointing for Tsukakoshi and the whole Manor team, a potential podium in one of the biggest events of the year disappeared just seconds into the race.  

Further behind though,  Bird was making good progress and although he did benefit from several cars spinning off the circuit in the difficult conditions, he came through the order superbly into seventh place. 

For Oshima, a gamble to begin the Masters event on slick tyres just didn’t pay off as the track remained wet pretty much to the end and he came home in 20th position. Having struggled throughout for grip, during the closing stages cars on dry tyres did have the chance to lap quickly and Oshima posted a time of 1m 31.362 seconds, less than two 10ths of a second off the best of the race.

Irishman Breen, meanwhile, took a decision to pit for slicks midway through the race but taking into account his position at that point and the loss of time during the change, he was unable to make much headway and finished the race in 22nd position. It’s important to note, Bird, Oshima and Breen were all handicapped due to being in the slower of the two qualifying sessions and thus forced to start the Masters race outside the top 20, as per event regulations.

Commenting on Manor Motorsport’s fortunes in the 2008 RTL GP Masters of Formula 3, team owner John Booth said: “Sam had a cracking race, he was a bit fortunate at the start with some incidents but he drove very well. Seventh from 22nd on the grid is great, it tells its own story. 

“Koudai was very unfortunate, van der Zande could have left more room and they would both have gone through the first corner ok but he just turned in. It’s a real shame, Koudai had a great chance to be on the podium. Kazuya suffered because he started on slicks and the track just didn’t dry out – it was as simple as that. Niall came in to the pits part way through the race for slicks but there wasn’t much he could do during the time left.”

MANOR STAR BREEN RACES TO MAIDEN F3 EUROSERIES PODIUM 

Irishman Niall Breen produced by far the best performance of his debut season in the ultra-competitive Formula 3 Euroseries on Sunday, 27th July, by steering his Mercedes powered Manor Motorsport run car to a fine second place finish during the 12th round of the year at Germany’s Nurburgring. 

In his maiden season driving for John Booth’s Dinnington based team, the 22-year-old from Dundalk has encountered more than his fair share of misfortune so far but things came right on Sunday with his second pole position start and first visit to the rostrum. 

Taking pole by virtue of his eighth place finish during round 11 on Saturday – under F3 Euroseries rules, the finishing order of the first race on any given weekend sets the grid for race two, with the exception of the top eight which is reversed – Breen knew a good start would be critical on a circuit where overtaking is at a premium. 

Getting away very well initially, Breen locked up into the first corner and the momentary error presented an advantage to second-placed starter Jon Lancaster who went through into the lead. Pressing as hard as possible over the remainder of the race, all the Manor ace could do was stare at the rear of the British driver’s car and follow it home in second. 

“I am happy with second place, although I would have liked to win this one”, commented Breen after round 12, “On the first few laps I tried to attack, but overtaking is very difficult here. I had a gap over the guys behind me, so I safely drove home in second place.”  

Honda Racing protégé Koudai Tsukakoshi ended the race out of the points in 11th position, a great effort from 24th on the grid. British sensation Sam Bird concluded round 12 in 19th place with Kazuya Oshima just behind in 20th position – the Japanese star was running nicely inside the top 10 but a spin late on at turn one cost him dear. 

The first of the weekend’s races on Saturday again saw Breen assuming the mantle as lead Manor driver. Thriving on Nurburgring’s short circuit, the Irish star climbed from 15th on the grid to eighth position at the finish. On the opening lap alone he had made his way into the top 10 but from then on, progress was limited as he gained two more spots. 

Toyota Driver Programme backed racer Oshima lined up 17th on the grid for the first race but did well to climb into 11th by the finish. Tsukakoshi, meanwhile, continued to miss out on adding to his championship tally after retiring on the 18th lap of 29 with broken rear suspension. 

Bird too hit problems, taking the chequered flag in 22nd position a lap down on the leaders. Off the start, Bird headed into turn one cleanly but contact on his inside pitched him into a spin. After pitting to rectify the damage, he rejoined a long way down. 

NORISRING PODIUM FOR MANOR ACE TSUKAKOSHI

Manor Motorsport’s Koudai Tsukakoshi achieved his, and the team’s, second podium finish of the 2008 Formula 3 Euroseries at the Norisring in Germany over the weekend, 28th/29th June in Round 7 of the Championship.

Sadly for the Honda Racing backed driver, he couldn't reproduce the same form on Sunday in Round 8 after he was forced to retire from the race on the opening lap following a multi-car pile-up at the notorious Grundig Hairpin. 

Compatriot Kazuya Oshima was the best placed Manor driver in the second race, the Toyota Development Programme racer achieving a top seven finish just 0.3secs ahead of British team-mate Sam Bird. Northern Ireland’s Niall Breen finished the race in 17th position. 

Oshima had battled hard in Saturday’s seventh round with a fighting climb through the order from 26th on the grid to 13th at the chequered flag. Again, he was immediately followed over the line by Bird with Breen taking 24th position. 

Lining up an excellent third on the grid for round seven, Tsukakoshi benefited from a mistake from Mika Maki on the opening lap when the Finn outbraked himself into the Grundig Hairpin and then, soon after, collided with Jules Bianchi. 

Throughout the remainder of the race, the Manor star’s second place never looked in doubt but he didn’t quite have the grip from his tyres to catch eventual race winner, Germany’s Nico Hulkenberg. 

Bird gained four positions in the race to finish in 14th place but, other than Tsukakoshi, Oshima was the star Manor driver, racing from 26th on the grid to 13th position at the chequered flag. Breen, who started 29th, climbed five places to 24th. 

Commenting on his round seven podium, Tsukakoshi said: “I had a good start and benefited from the collision in front of me. I had a little lack of grip and this is why Nico Hulkenberg was just too quick for me.” 

Chaotic scenes dominated the start of the eighth round, red flags shown on the opening lap after a multi-car pile-up. Eliminating Tsukakoshi from the reckoning, Oshima took up the mantle of Manor’s quickest driver by racing strongly to a top seven result during the re-started encounter. 

Further incidents later in the race resulted in an early cessation but before the contest was ended, Bird had followed Oshima’s progress closely into eighth and Breen finished the outing in 17th position. 

At the conclusion of the Norisring races, Tsukakoshi is Manor’s highest driver in the championship standings in sixth place on 16 points, Breen and Bird are tied in 18th position on one point each and Oshima is yet to score.

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS GO ASTRAY FOR MANOR AT PAU 

Formula 3 Euroseries team Manor Motorsport had a weekend to forget during the fifth and sixth rounds of the 2008 F3 Euroseries at the Pau street circuit with potential points finishes all going astray in very unfortunate circumstances. 

Away from its regular support slot on the DTM package, the F3 Euroseries competed alongside the World Touring Car Championship at the prestigious and challenging street circuit – the first time the pan-European F3 category has raced at the Pyrenees situated venue since 2005. 

Round five had two Safety Car periods after a number of accidents and incidents took place in tricky, drying conditions – just 10 of the 30 cars which started the race actually made it through to the chequered flag. 

Kazuya Oshima was the only Manor driver to finish the race, having started down in 28th on the grid he fought through to 10th position. Japanese countryman Koudai Tsukakoshi was classified in 11th place, Niall Breen was 13th and Sam Bird was forced to retire on his 18th lap after getting caught up in an accident ahead. 

Manor team boss John Booth explains: “With just a few minutes to go everything looked rosy for us, we had three cars in the top eight and looked good for some points. The track was drying from the start so everyone was on slicks but off-line it was wet and a lot of drivers were caught out by that. With only 10 cars finishing, it shows what it was like. 

“Sam was taken out by two cars crashing in-front of him, Niall went off on the bad damp patch that caught out a lot of front-runners and then Koudai had a problem with his brakes. Kazuya did well to come through from so far down the grid and to stay out of trouble. It was one of the most incident-packed races I’ve ever seen.” 

Round six was also badly affected by the weather and was actually started behind the Safety Car. Beginning and finishing in 10th place, Oshima was again Manor’s best placed runner with Bird climbing from 16th on the grid to 11th at the chequered flag and Tsukakoshi slipping back to 18th position. Breen, meanwhile, retired on lap 15. 

Booth added: “This weekend certainly wasn’t one to remember but it was so full of incident, it was always going to be a bit of a lottery. We’re looking forward to the next two rounds now where we aim to be back challenging for the podium. It’s been a tough start to the year but we’re remaining positive." 

TSUKAKOSHI CLAIMS MANOR’S FIRST F3 PODIUM OF 2008

Honda racing backed Japanese star Koudai Tsukakoshi produced a superb performance during round three of the 2008 Formula 3 Euroseries at Mugello in Italy over the weekend, 3rd/4th May, to secure Dinnington based Manor Motorsport’s first podium of the year. 

The 21-year-old qualified on the front row of the grid for the Saturday race with a time of 1m 41.609 seconds and he shadowed eventual race winner Nico Hulkenberg all the way to the flag, setting the second fastest race lap in the process of 1m 43.115 seconds. 

“It was a hard race but the balance of my car has been great throughout the weekend so I must thank the team”, said Tsukakoshi, “I am really happy with my maiden podium in the Formula 3 Euro Series.” 

In Sunday’s round four, Irishman Niall Breen secured his first points finish of the season with sixth place. As the top Manor driver on the day, Breen has taken a lot of encouragement from the result as he gets more and more adjusted to the differences between British F3 – where he raced in 2007 – and the F3 Euroseries. 

Duelling with team-mate Tsukakoshi for the final point, he made his move on lap 10 and then pressurised Nico Hulkenberg. Breen wasn’t able to find a way through but he did post the second fastest race lap of any driver with a time of 1m 42.982 seconds – along with race winner Mika Maki he was the only racer to lap under the 1m 43 second barrier. 

At the finish of round four, a blanket could literally have covered Manor team-mates Breen, Tsukakoshi and Sam Bird in sixth, seventh and eighth positions. With the Japanese racer just half a second shy of Breen, Bird was even closer to the tail of Tsukakoshi over the line. Bird’s drive from 14th on the grid was particularly impressive. 

Toyota Development Programme member Kazuya Oshima, who celebrated his 21st birthday last Wednesday, ended the second encounter in 18th position having started down in 26th place on the grid. 

Other than Tsukakoshi’s superb round three podium result, Breen finished in ninth place, tantalisingly just 1.7 seconds shy of the points, and therefore just missed out too on a reverse grid pole position start for Sunday’s race. 

Bird ended round three in 14th place, having started in 17th, while Oshima was classified five laps down after having problems with a broken exhaust. 

Speaking on the weekend’s action at Mugello, Manor Motorsport owner John Booth said: “We’re delighted Koudai got onto the podium during the first race, we know we’re capable of that kind of performance and hopefully more results like that will follow during the remainder of the season. 

“All in all it wasn’t a bad weekend, qualifying could have gone better but all four of our lads showed good pace in race trim and didn’t do a bad job at all. The street circuit at Pau in France is the next race a month from now, qualifying well there will be absolutely crucial so hopefully it’ll go well for us.” 

As-live replays of the weekend’s two F3 Euroseries races will be shown on cable and digital satellite channel Motors TV at 23.00 tonight, Tuesday, 6th May. Check listings details of subsequent re-runs. 

BIRD SECURES MAIDEN F3 EUROSERIES POINTS FINISH

Manor Motorsport’s Sam Bird achieved his first Formula 3 Euroseries points finish during only his second race in the category at Hockenheim in Germany yesterday, Sunday, 13th April, the highlight of an otherwise trying weekend for the Dinnington based team. 

The recently named British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) ‘Superstar’ was certainly Manor’s stand-out performer during the season opening event and having finished 10th during round one on Saturday, 12th April, he went on to race strongly to a sixth place finish in the second encounter, securing in the process his first championship point.  

Qualifying proved to be key to the outcome of the weekend and, very unfortunately, all four Manor drivers experienced nothing but bad luck. Scheduled to take place on Friday afternoon, 11th April, the session was postponed until Saturday due to heavy rain. 

When qualifying did finally take place, it was on a rapidly drying track and those drivers taking the chequered flag at the end of the session were always going to be quickest. 

With just a few minutes remaining the team had three cars inside the top 10 but the problem came on each runner’s final lap – slower cars on slick tyres baulking the Manor drivers as they pushed for fast times and resulting in the quartet being much further down the grid than their genuine pace would have allowed. 

Toyota Development Programme-backed Kazuya Oshima qualified in 20th position for round one, Honda Racing supported Koudai Tsukakoshi was 22nd, Bird was classified 23rd and Irishman Niall Breen qualified 24th. 

Obviously a very difficult situation for the Manor team, the races at least did offer some good news with Bird and Tsukakoshi both running strongly to finish in 10th and 13th positions respectively. Breen ended the race in 19th while Oshima was forced to retire on the fifth lap of 23. 

For race two, Bird raced well to his top six result and was actually held up by fifth placed Yann Clairay for a number of laps, taking the chequered flag just half a second behind the Frenchman.  

Tsukakoshi climbed from 13th on the grid to finish in ninth position, just four seconds shy of the points, while Breen and Oshima ended round two in 19th and 20th. The finishing positions actually belied their pace, Breens’s best lap of 1m 34.596 seconds comparable with team-mate Bird’s quickest time of 1m 34.569 seconds. 

Likewise, Oshima’s fastest race lap in round two was just 0.39 seconds slower than that managed by Tsukakoshi a full 11 places further up the order. Without the misfortune of the qualifying session, the team would have undoubtedly scored more points.  

Looking back on what can only be described as a trying weekend, Manor Motorsport team owner John Booth said: “Qualifying was a real problem, none of our guys could get a clear lap right at the end and they lost huge amounts of time. It was a fast drying track, whoever was there at the end with quick laps was always going to be at the sharp end. 

“We know for sure Sam would have been fourth quickest without the traffic but all of our lads had problems. When they came up behind the slower cars on their fast laps they were completely snookered, nothing they could do.” 

Booth added: “Nonetheless, they all fought hard and the race pace was actually very good, certainly a match for the guys running at the front. If qualifying had been a different story we’d have been in with a strong chance of some very good results. There are certainly far more positives than negatives to take from the weekend. 

“It’s unfortunate but we’re focusing instead on the next two races at Mugello. We won there last year so I see no reason why our guys can’t be on top form again to challenge for podiums. We’ll go testing before then but we haven’t decided where just yet, it’ll be within the next couple of weeks though.” 

Coverage of the opening two rounds of the 2008 F3 Euroseries will be replayed as live on digital satellite and cable channel Motors TV this evening, Monday, 14th April, at 19.00 and then again on Wednesday, 16th April, at 05.00. For further details of additional broadcasts please check listings. 

Rounds three and four of the championship will take place three weeks from now on 3rd/4th May at Mugello in Italy.