16.08.08 DOUBLE WIN PUTS TURVEY ONTOP IN TITLE CHASE Saturday, 16 August 2008: Oliver Turvey raced to his first double victory of the season at Silverstone today to overtake his rivals and head the British F3 International Championship. The Racing Steps Foundation driver who qualified on the front row of the grid for both races also claimed fastest lap in each of the two rounds to earn maximum points from the double header. With four races to go, he now leads the Championship by nine points from the Mexican Sergio Perez on 183 points and Carlin Motorsport team mate Jaime Alguersuari (178 points) in third place. The two wins followed an almost dominant performance at Spa last time out when Turvey claimed two poles and a win in the first of the weekend's races. The chance of a second win was sidelined by a mechanical failure that left Turvey stranded on the grid. This time out the only glitch to spoil a near-faultless weekend came at the start of the first race when Turvey made a slow start from pole position. The fleeting delay - caused by a new, untried clutch – allowed Carlin team mate and front-row starter Brendon Hartley to take the lead. Turvey managed to hang onto second place and with his customary cool reeled Hartley in over the following 21 laps, narrowing the gap from 1.160 to 0.326 seconds. The relentless pressure paid off the following lap when Hartley, struggling for grip, ran wide on the exit from Copse allowing Turvey alongside and into the lead on the run down to Maggotts. The RSF man then pulled away to cross the line just under 1.5 seconds ahead of the New Zealander. "We had a problem with the clutch yesterday and changed it which meant I'd not had chance to use it in anger before the start," he said, explaining his off-the-line hiccup. "Unfortunately for me the biting point had changed quite a lot so I didn't get a very good getaway. "That allowed Brendon through and I was fortunate to hang on to second. But I had really good pace once I got going and managed to get onto the back of him. Then he made a mistake at Copse and I managed to squeeze through." With positions on the grid reversed for race two, Turvey was expecting to face another tough battle for the lead but in a reversal of fortunes he left poleman Hartley standing to claim a lights-to-flag victory. "I think Brendon had problems with gear selection and just didn't move when the lights went out," the jubilant RSF driver explained. "But this time round I got a really good start. By the first corner I was gone and from that point on I had the pace to control the race all the way to the finish. "So it's been a pretty good weekend all round – two front row starts, two fastest laps, two wins, maximum points, and to be in the lead, it doesn't get any better. Hopefully we'll carry that momentum forward into the remaining four races." Turvey also had other reasons to leave the circuit with a broad smile on his face. On Thursday he was presented with the first ever Full Blue to be awarded for motor sport by Cambridge University (see separate story) and today he received the Dunhill 'Future Champion' award (see earlier story). His maximum points haul also secured him the inaugural Mirror.co.uk British F3 Challenge Cup. The trophy is awarded to the top British driver in the series. The next rounds of the championship take place at Bucharest next weekend where Turvey reckons they have a good chance of another win. "It'll be my first ever street race so it'll interesting for sure. But I think we'll have a pretty good car and a good chance of another win if we can keep this form going." << back to news