“This was simply an utterly disappointing weekend; there is no reason to call it anything else,” says Felix Rosenqvist. “My shot at a decent result more or less disappeared already on Thursday, but Macau is a very special venue and it’s never over until it’s over. Unfortunately, though, things didn’t get much better in the races, and although we had an efficient car on the straights, we struggled a bit with the set-up in the mountain section. We were fast enough to battle for a top five result if we would have stayed out of trouble, but at the end of the day things sometimes just don’t turn out the way you want them to.”

Rosenqvist posted the eighth-fastest time in Friday’s qualifying session – just one tenth shy of fifth place and 0.7 seconds adrift of Pole-setter and regular Formula 3 Euro Series rival Marco Wittmann – but had to see his efforts come to nothing due to the penalty from Thursday. The crash in the finale then brought the Swede’s event to a premature end. Victory in the classic street race outside of Hong Kong went to Spaniard Daniel Juncadella – another of Rosenqvist’s Formula 3 Euro Series competitors.

“I am obviously everything but satisfied with the outcome of Macau, but overall it’s still been a very good season,” Rosenqvist concludes. “I continue to learn something new every time I climb into the car, and we’ve been among the quickest in Formula 3 Euro Series more or less all through the campaign. I am now looking forward to a chance of recharging the batteries for an even stronger performance in 2012 – we will definitely be back!”

Felix Rosenqvist can look back at a season which, coupled with the RTL GP Masters of Formula 3 triumph, has seen the Swede claim one victory, ten podiums and five fastest laps in his first Formula 3 Euro Series campaign.

The reigning GP3 Series Champion, also a race winner with Woking-based Double R in the British Formula 3 International Series this year, held third on the opening lap and ran three-wide with pole position starter Marco Wittmann and 2011 British F3 Champion Felipe Nasr through the first turn.

On the outside line for the right-hander at Lisboa, Bottas had to settle for third and although unfortunately slipping behind reigning F3 Euroseries Champion Roberto Merhi on lap two at the same corner the Double R racer produced a very strong performance. At the start of the ninth tour the Safety Car was deployed due to an incident so racing ended under caution at the end of lap 10.

Arriving late in Macau on Thursday, 17th November, following a Formula One test outing with the AT&T Williams F1 Team at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi earlier in the week, Bottas’ troubles were compounded when a further delay meant he also missed the first part of opening qualifying.

Even so, with seriously limited track time, the Finn’s class shone through and he steered his Dallara-Mercedes HWA to fourth fastest during the all-important dry second qualifying session on Friday, 18th November, within just 0.4 seconds of pole position. This then became third on the Qualification Race grid when Merhi was penalised.

“Valtteri did a great job today, it’s a shame he couldn’t stay ahead of Merhi but starting on the second row for tomorrow is good”, said Galaxy Double R team principal Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt, “The pace is obvious, he set the second fastest lap today, so we can definitely fight for the win from there. Considering the difficulties he had missing first practice it’s been a fantastic effort so far.”

Team-mates Marko Asmer and Mitch Evans both face a very tough challenge during the GP itself, the Estonian ending today’s encounter in 18th place – having run as high as seventh before sidepod damage ruined his straight-line speed – while New Zealander Evans finished in 22nd on his first time in Macau after starting at the back of the grid due to engine problems in qualifying.

Asmer, making a welcome return to Macau, was just 0.8 seconds shy of Bottas’ qualifying time to place him 12th on the grid for today’s race despite having had no regular race programme for the past couple of years.

The 2007 British F3 Champion was unfortunately handed a three-place penalty due to erroneously straying over the pit-lane exit marker line in qualifying. This was actually nullified though when other drivers were also handed a variety of penalties.

Climbing superbly into seventh place on the opening lap, Asmer used all of his experience to fantastic effect but after incurring sidepod damage he was powerless to prevent a drop down the order to an eventual finish of 18th position. He will therefore have another incredibly difficult race ahead of him tomorrow, starting on the ninth row of the Grand Prix grid.

Evans’ debut weekend in the former Portuguese enclave began with dire misfortune when his engine had to be changed due to a failure, caused by over-revving, before he had even had a chance to post a time during second qualifying.

Leaving the teenage Kiwi in 30th and last place on the grid for today’s encounter, he actually started 28th due to the varied penalties for others and produced a superb opening lap where he gained half a dozen positions and then proceeded to climb up the order further.

Unfortunately, contact to the rear of his Dallara-Mercedes from Richard Bradley on lap six forced Evans down an escape road and ruined all of his great work although he was able to recover into 22nd – meaning he will begin his first ever Macau F3 GP from the 11th row of the grid and ahead of several experienced drivers who encountered their own difficulties.

“Mitch had a lot of bad luck during the build-up to today and again in the race when he was taken out, he did a great job though and we’ve got high hopes he’ll come through the order well again tomorrow”, added Hieatt.

“Marko had a great start and first lap, really drove well, but then the damage to the sidepod made his car like a brick in a straight line. He’ll have a tough time tomorrow from 18th on the grid but he has the experience and ability to turn it around into a good result.”

The 58th Macau F3 Grand Prix will begin at 15.30 (local time) tomorrow, Sunday, 20th November.

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography

Following rain earlier on in the week, conditions remained dry for the start of today’s Qualification Race, for the ten lap sprint around the challenging Macau circuit. Nasr made the perfect start from fifth on the grid and benefitted from the stalled car of front row man Antonio Felix da Costa to catapult into second place. Huertas also made a good start and briefly climbed to fourth, before settling for fifth at the end of lap one.

Jaafar lost out in the chaotic mid field at the start and dropped to 24th, while Magnussen had already made up several places in 22nd having started 29th.

At the front Nasr was chasing down race leader Marco Wittmann, but had the charging Roberto Merhi right behind him by the end of lap two. Nasr held station though and coped well with the pressure to keep the F3 Euro Series champion behind him.

Huertas was also enjoying some close racing and had closed in on GP3 champion Valtteri Bottas for fourth, and by lap five was close enough to put the Finn under intense pressure. Nasr meanwhile had responded well to the pace from behind and set the fastest lap of the race so far on lap five.

Facing a completely different battle was Magnussen, who had demonstrated pace good enough to qualify seventh, but was fighting his way through the field following a grid penalty. The British F3 vice champion was 20th, just ahead of Jaafar in 21st.

After managing to pull out a small gap, Nasr was under pressure again from Merhi, who set the fastest lap of the race on lap eight, while behind them the pack continued to shuffle with Jaafar moving up to 18th ahead of Magnussen in 19th.

Attention remained firmly focused on the leaders though, as the British and F3 Euro champions Nasr and Merhi fought closely for second. Merhi made a move up the inside at Lisboa on lap eight, but Nasr defended well and maintained position.

A big accident for Jimmy Eriksson brought racing action to a halt on lap nine. The driver climbed from the car unhurt but the incident brought out the safety car. With debris strewn across the track, the race finished under those conditions, with Nasr taking second in his Volkswagen powered car, with Huertas fifth. Jaafar crossed the line in 17th, with Magnussen 19th, the positions the Carlin quartet will take on the grid for tomorrow’s race.

Reflecting on a tense afternoon, Nasr said, “From the start I got two places straight away, after Sims crashed and da Costa stalled. I was third into the first corner and managed to get a good tow from Bottas and we were three wide into Lisboa. I was in the middle so I didn’t have the right line to come out first and I was cautious not to make contact. I managed to come out in second though and then I just focused on keeping the car out of the walls so we could have a good position for tomorrow.

“Both Wittmann and Merhi were very quick; Wittmann had a strong car in the middle sector, but I was fast in the final sector and was able to close on him there and pull away from Merhi a little. I think we need to look at the data to see how we can improve further so we are even strong tomorrow, but second place is a great position to start from in Macau.”

Fifth placed man Huertas was also pleased with his race, “I was distracted at the start by da Costa stalling, which is how Merhi got past me, but my pace was really good, especially in the early stages. I nearly got past Bottas, but I didn’t want to do anything stupid. I think the pace between the front runners was very close today. We improved the car a lot from qualifying and we will try and do the same before tomorrow. Anything can happen around here and I’m in a good position to take a top result tomorrow.”

Trevor Carlin added, “Felipe did a fantastic job today. He made a great start; striking the balance between being aggressive and not risking too much. He withstood the pressure from Merhi extremely well and deserved to be on the podium today. To have two cars in the top five today is a great result for the team, following an impressive race by Carlos. It was a difficult task for Jazeman and Kevin today, but they both brought the cars home in one piece. Obviously tomorrow the drivers will have a completely different approach, and I’m sure we’ll see considerably less caution and more incidents! Nevertheless Felipe and Carlos have shown that we have a good car here, so we’re feeling confident.”

Tomorrow’s race will take place at 15.30 local time (07.30 GMT).

“I will never forget the feeling I had when I drove out of the pitlane in Macau for the first time last year, and it will be absolutely great to be back there again for a second time,” says Felix Rosenqvist. “I learned so much there last year, but I’m well aware of the fact that many of my rivals have still been to Macau on more occasions than I have and I know how tough the Macau Grand Prix really is. The team will go there for the very first time, but I still believe we will have the chance to challenge close to the front – not least following our victory in the Masters of Formula 3 at Zandvoort earlier this year. Macau has become my favourite circuit, and I can’t wait for the start of practice.”

The Macau Grand Prix has been the single most important event of the Formula 3 season every year since its
inception in 1983. The list of previous winners includes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Sweden’s Rickard Rydell, with 20 out of the 28 drivers who have started a Formula 1 race in 2011 having driven at Macau at least once in their careers. At Mücke Motorsport, preparations are well underway as excitement for the race builds.

“Racing in the Macau Grand Prix for the first time ever will be a big challenge for the entire team, but with Felix behind the wheel I think we are well-placed to fight for the top five positions,” says team principal Peter Mücke. “Felix drove there very competitively last year, and we do have experience of street circuits from all the races we’ve done at the Norisring in Germany over the years. Adapting to a new track will not be a major problem, and the key to success at Macau will be to get everything together on the day – and some luck on the opening laps!”

The venue for the Macau Grand Prix is the temporarily erected Guia Circuit, which is made up of public roads in the city centre of the Chinese gambling metropolis outside of Hong Kong. The 2011 Macau Grand Prix takes place on November 17-20.

The 19-year-old Dubliner, who has spent this season contesting the Japanese Formula 3 Championship, became the youngest Irishman in history to drive a modern grand prix car, as well as the first from any nation to pilot one in Taiwan, after accepting an invitation to offer distinguished guests passenger rides at the 3.5km circuit’s opening.

It was also an opportunity for Thompson to catch up with team personnel from KCMG who, having overseen his 2011 single-seater campaign, were now sampling their first taste of running Formula 1 machinery. It was also a new experience for the thousands of fans in attendance, many of whom had never witnessed a grand prix car in the flesh before.

Of course this was just another day at the office for Thompson who, despite the wet conditions, enjoyed his time behind the wheel of the Minardi F1x2 which produces in excess of 700bhp thanks to its race-derived 3-litre Cosworth V10 engine.

Gary Thompson: “The car has a lot of power which can be difficult to exploit in the wet, but I know the circuit and KCMG CEOs enjoyed the wheelspin regardless! I’ve been racing in Asia for the past three seasons so to be the first person to drive a Formula 1 car in Taiwan is personally extremely rewarding. Penbay International Circuit is a great venue with a lot of potential in a part of the world that is really beginning to embrace motor sport. Everyone at the track did a fantastic job to get it up to standard in time for the event. You never know, I might be back here one day putting my local knowledge to good use!”

Follow Gary Thompson on:
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Starting the first of the day’s two races on the 10th row by virtue of his finishing position during round 28 on Saturday afternoon, the T-Sport driver took the decision to change to treaded tyres on the grid due to the track surface being incredibly slippery after earlier rain.

Proving to be the perfect call, Menasheh made a sensational start and rocketed up the order with some brilliantly brave overtaking around the outside of Copse Corner and quickly scythed his way through into the top five before deposing the slick-tyre shod car of 2011 British F3 Champion Felipe Nasr for fourth position.

Lapping as the quickest driver during the early stages, the 20-year-old continued to produce very impressive times throughout and consolidated fourth place very comfortably to finish just over four seconds shy of the podium – a truly sensational performance. Menasheh was actually the third best placed championship regular with race winner Alexander Sims making a one-off outing.

“I made a really good start and just went around the outside of all of them”, said Menasheh, “Before I knew it, I was in fourth place – it was amazing! On the lap out of the pits I thought it looked like it was going to dry fast but the places where you needed to accelerate you just couldn’t, so we went with the wets and it was definitely the right call.”

In round 30, the final race of the championship, Menasheh lined-up 18th on the grid and after an action-packed opening lap he made his way up the order impressively into 13th position but slipped to 14th on lap three after almost locking wheels with Fahmi Ilyas at the exit of Brooklands.

On lap 11 he regained 13th when Jack Harvey was handed a drive-through penalty and although shuffled back a position on lap 14, he again benefitted when Scott Pye also received a penalty four laps from the finish and so moved back once again into 13th place which he held to the flag.

Primary school competition winners cheer-on Idafar and T-Sport…
Menasheh and the T-Sport team had some extra support for the final weekend of the season with a group of lucky competition winners from St Matthias Primary School in Malvern, Worcestershire, attending the event as special guests.

Following an educational visit to the school back in May, during which pupils were set a challenge of designing a racing buggy, 12 youngsters were selected to have produced the best work. Along with the prize of visiting the home of the British Grand Prix to watch Menasheh in action, they also had the chance to see their own names on the livery of his Dallara-Volkswagen.

Having been close to adding a fourth podium to his season’s tally today, the 2010 National Class Champion ended his first year in the headline International Class of British F3 in 14th position overall, just three points shy of the top 12.

Final 2011 Cooper Tires British F3 International Series Standings:
14th Menasheh Idafar, 48pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Starting the race down in 18th position due to major oversteer problems in the morning qualifying session, the 20-year-old multiple podium finisher was determined to get a good start and did just that with a fantastic getaway.

Passing several cars on the run to the first corner, Copse, Menasheh steered his Dallara-Volkswagen into 14th place on lap one and although slipping to 15th on lap two behind Hywel Lloyd, both drivers gained a couple of spots at the expense of others on lap four with Menasheh rising into 13th position.

Pressuring Lloyd hard, while also repelling the advances of Fahmi Ilyas behind, the Anglo-Bahraini then moved into the top 12 on lap seven following a spin at the exit of Becketts for interloping GP3 Series front-runner Mitch Evans.

Continuing comfortably in 12th place, as the race passed into its final third championship officials decreed Menasheh wasn’t adhering to the track limits sufficiently at Stowe Corner and therefore served him with a drive-through penalty.

Disappointed with the decision, the T-Sport driver had no option but to serve the drive-through which he did at the conclusion of the penultimate lap. Re-emerging from the pitlane in 19th place, Menasheh did manage to close right up behind Adderley Fong on the final lap to cross the line just 0.2 seconds adrift.

“It’s really disappointing we had the penalty as it had been quite a good race, I made a really good start and passed a few cars straight away”, said Menasheh, “I’m not sure why they thought I had gone too wide at Stowe, I drove it the same as in qualifying, but you have to accept the penalty. It’s a tough way for the race to end and means we have a hard fight ahead in both races tomorrow.”

Round 29 of the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series is scheduled to get underway just before 10.10 tomorrow, Sunday, 9th October, with round 30 following at around 16.10. Both of the races will receive live television coverage on cable and digital satellite channel Motors TV – please check www.motorstv.com for more details.

Provisional 2011 Cooper Tires British F3 International Series Standings (after Rd28):
14th Menasheh Idafar, 41pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Competitors were greeted by a cold and damp Grand Prix Circuit for the start of the morning session, in which the Anglo-Bahraini managed to post the 13th fastest lap of 1m59.200 seconds as the surface began to dry.

In the afternoon, the 20-year-old set an improved time of 1m56.756 seconds but he was unable to benefit from a run on fresh rubber when the session was halted due to a red flag prior to a heavy rain shower which saturated the circuit.

This did give Menasheh and his rivals some vital wet-weather experience of the 3.66-mile track though and, with rain a distinct possibility over the course of the race weekend, the 2010 National Class Champion delivered some impressive times.

Having starred in the wet during the previous event at Donington Park last month to claim his third podium finish of the season, the Dallara-Volkswagen driver certainly won’t mind if the conditions are similar during the final three rounds of the championship on Saturday and Sunday.

“We went quite well in the wet towards the end, if it’s like that over the weekend hopefully we should be ok”, said Menasheh, “When it was drier, we should have been quicker but we didn’t get to go on new tyres before the rain came. I really want to end the season with some good results, we’ll see how it goes.”

Qualifying and the first race of the weekend, round 28, will take place at Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit tomorrow, Saturday, 8th October, at 11.25 and 15.10 respectively. Rounds 29 and 30 will follow on Sunday, 9th October, at around 10.10 and 16.10 – the Sunday action set to be screened live this weekend on digital satellite and cable channel Motors TV. Check www.motorstv.com for details.

Provisional 2011 Cooper Tires British F3 International Series Standings (after Rd27):
14th Menasheh Idafar, 41pts

Photo by Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Nasr won the 2011 British F3 title with races to spare, the 19 year old quickly took the lead in the championship after a consistent start to his season, taking seven wins and 14 podiums so far this season. The young Brazilian stamped his dominance on the championship and stayed at the top throughout, carefully building a points gap over the rest of the field.

Nasr will have a challenge on his hands at the street circuit in the form of his British F3 team mates. Colombian Carlos Huertas finished in a strong tenth position on his first visit to the 3.8 mile circuit last year. The 20 year old has already taken seven podiums in the British Formula Three Championship and is currently lying second overall.

Jazeman Jaafar will also be representing the team; the young Malaysian drove for Carlin last year in the Chinese enclave and crossed the line twelfth. His 2011 BF3 campaign has seen him walk away with four podiums to date. As his only race on his home continent, the Petronas backed driver will have high hopes ahead of this year’s event.

Making his Macau debut this year will be 19 year old Kevin Magnussen. The Dane is the youngest in the Carlin line-up and goes into this race after a successful season which provided him with six wins and sees him currently lying third in the championship. His all or nothing racing approach should provide some great action around Macau.

Having enjoyed a hugely successful British Formula Three campaign in which he became champion Felipe Nasr said, “Macau is a hugely important race on the F3 calendar and it’s a very special feeling to be able to participate with Carlin. I know the team extremely well, and I know we have a great car – I feel as though we can be right up there.

“Having won the British F3 title I feel super confident and can’t wait to go to Macau and it would really round off a great season if we do really well there.”

Kevin Magnussen heads to Macau for the first time this year, looking ahead to the event he said, “Having never been there before I don’t know what to expect. I’ve been told it’s the best track in the world – and it really does look amazing! I think it will be a great challenge for me and knowing that Carlin have had great results here in the past makes me think we can definitely be right up there.”

Trevor Carlin added, “Macau is a highlight of the season for us and this year we go with a fantastic driver line-up. Felipe, Carlos and Jazeman all have previous experience of Macau, while Kevin is just the right type of driver to be able attack Macau at the maximum level from the outset. It is one of the most challenging events of a drivers’ career and a proving ground for the teams as well, so we can’t wait for the event to get underway.”

“An OK weekend for us, where we’ve been quick enough to challenge for wins and podiums,” says Felix Rosenqvist. “I felt I was slightly faster than Nigel in Race 1, but it’s almost impossible to overtake here at Valencia and I also had to watch out for Roberto behind me for much of the race. It was great to give the team another 1-2, but after six second places this season I would obviously have preferred to win. I would also like to congratulate Roberto on winning the title – he has done the best job this season, and he is a very worthy champion.”

In Race 2, where the positions on the grid are based on the results of Race 1 but with the top eight reversed, Rosenqvist and Merhi treated the on-site fans to one of the most spectacular battles of the year with a wheel-to-wheel dice at over 220 km/h. After disputing fifth place side-by-side for more than half a lap, Merhi eventually managed to take the position and Felix crossed the line in sixth. Race 3 saw Rosenqvist again challenge for the podium as he finished in fourth place – just 1.5 seconds adrift of second-placed Daniel Juncadella.

“For me, the Race 2 fight with Roberto was the highlight of this weekend – extremely tough racing, but still with a lot of respect for each other and completely fair,” Rosenqvist concludes. “I have rarely found myself in real man-to-man situations in my career, so this was a very valuable experience. Race 3 was rather processional due to the difficulties of overtaking at this circuit, but all in all it’s been a good weekend. We have every chance of fighting for victory again at Hockenheim, and I am definitely ready to go for it!”

Following this weekend’s results, Felix Rosenqvist climbs to fifth overall in the championship standings. The Formula 3 Euro Series season finale takes place on October 21-23.