Jun 2007
Performance Racing keeps good form in Monza
The British F3
International Series was in Monza, for their 2nd
event outside the UK this season. Performance Racing
drivers Frankie Cheng and Hamad Al Fardan kept on
their recent good form, scoring 3 podium finishes
between them, while Ricardo Teixeira’s races
were compromised by mechanical problems.
The two National Class drivers showed their strong pace already in qualifying, with Cheng and Al Fardan putting their cars in 2nd and 3rd place for the start of both races.
Cheng drove two strong races, and moved up some positions. Unfortunately on both occasions there were too many Championship Class cars between him and Sergio Perez, which prevented the Chinese driver from challenging his championship rival. Still, he did well do finish 2nd on both occasions, and an impressive 10th overall in Race 2! Al Fardan got caught up in an incident on Race 1, and had to retire. The Bahraini driver didn’t let this disappointment get the best of him and drove a great 2nd race to finish in 3rd place, his 4th podium of the season!
Cheng is now 2nd in the National Class standings, 12 points behind the leading driver, and Al Fardan has moved up to 5th.
Teixeira’s weekend was one of disappointment. Problems in the 1st qualifying session meant that he could do no better than 22nd. The 2nd session looked much better, and a top 15 qualifying spot would have been entirely possible, but unfortunately Ricardo was held up by a car warming up his tires on what would have been his fastest lap.
The two races didn’t go much better. An action packed first race saw Ricardo moving up and down the order in the first laps. He managed to recover, and was catching up a group of cars fighting for positions in the Top 15 when an oil leak forced him into a spin and retirement. Race 2 didn’t go much better, with the Angolan driver retiring with gearbox problems early on.
Team Manager Bobby Issazadhe commented that “The podium finishes were a good thing obviously, but it was a shame that Frankie never had the opportunity to challenge Perez directly. If he had, maybe we could have come away with two victories. ”
Performance Racing will now be busy relocating to its new workshop in Silverstone, before getting back into action as the British F3 International Series returns to UK soil on July 15-16 for rounds 11 & 12 in Brands Hatch.
The two National Class drivers showed their strong pace already in qualifying, with Cheng and Al Fardan putting their cars in 2nd and 3rd place for the start of both races.
Cheng drove two strong races, and moved up some positions. Unfortunately on both occasions there were too many Championship Class cars between him and Sergio Perez, which prevented the Chinese driver from challenging his championship rival. Still, he did well do finish 2nd on both occasions, and an impressive 10th overall in Race 2! Al Fardan got caught up in an incident on Race 1, and had to retire. The Bahraini driver didn’t let this disappointment get the best of him and drove a great 2nd race to finish in 3rd place, his 4th podium of the season!
Cheng is now 2nd in the National Class standings, 12 points behind the leading driver, and Al Fardan has moved up to 5th.
Teixeira’s weekend was one of disappointment. Problems in the 1st qualifying session meant that he could do no better than 22nd. The 2nd session looked much better, and a top 15 qualifying spot would have been entirely possible, but unfortunately Ricardo was held up by a car warming up his tires on what would have been his fastest lap.
The two races didn’t go much better. An action packed first race saw Ricardo moving up and down the order in the first laps. He managed to recover, and was catching up a group of cars fighting for positions in the Top 15 when an oil leak forced him into a spin and retirement. Race 2 didn’t go much better, with the Angolan driver retiring with gearbox problems early on.
Team Manager Bobby Issazadhe commented that “The podium finishes were a good thing obviously, but it was a shame that Frankie never had the opportunity to challenge Perez directly. If he had, maybe we could have come away with two victories. ”
Performance Racing will now be busy relocating to its new workshop in Silverstone, before getting back into action as the British F3 International Series returns to UK soil on July 15-16 for rounds 11 & 12 in Brands Hatch.
Performance Racing on the podium once again
Following the inaugural
British F3 race in Bucharest, Performance Racing was
back in action, this time at the Snetterton circuit
in Norfolk.
Bahrain’s Hamad Al Fardan carried on his good form from the last meeting, scoring a 2nd and a 3rd place, while Cong Fu Cheng’s 2nd place in Race 2 meant he now shares the lead in the National Class standings.
With most drivers being able to post very similar laptimes, a top qualifying performance was essential in securing a good spot on the starting grid. Al Fardan did just that, and put his car in 3rd place for both races. He was just 0.158s behind the fastest National Class car in the first qualifying session, and only 0.057s in the second one. “Frankie” Cheng was more discreet, however, and could not capitalize on his strong showing in the Friday free practice sessions. This, combined with a technical decision that proved to be wrong, meant that the best he could get out of his Dallara Mugen-Honda were two 8th places.
Despite suffering from an electrical glitch in his car, Al Fardan drove a strong first race, holding on to 3rd place, and passing Ali Jackson for 2nd place when the opportunity arose with 10 laps to go. Cheng picked his way through the field, finishing 4th and scoring important points in the championship battle.
Al Fardan made a mistake early on in Race 2 which threw him to the back of the field, but benefited from a safety car period to catch up again. He then proceeded to overtake his opponents to finish once again in 3rd place, his third visit to the podium in as many races. Cheng was determined to put back his qualifying performance and charged his way up to 2nd place.
Ricardo Teixeira, the Angolan driver competing in the Championship Class, could only manage a 20th and 18th place in the grids for the two races of the weekend. Locked in battle for the duration of both races, Teixeira was not able to make much progress even if he was faster than some of the drivers directly ahead. He finished in 16th and 17th place.
Team Manager Bobby Issazadhe commented that “The National Class boys did well once again. Frankie fought back from a difficult qualifying, and Hamad showed that his form is improving race by race. We have been looking at Ricardo’s situation, made some adjustments and we hope that he can get back to the form he showed in the winter tests quite soon.”
Performance Racing is returning to Snetterton for a test next week, to prepare for the next round of the British Formula 3 International Series which takes place in Monza, Italy, on June 23rd and 24th.
Bahrain’s Hamad Al Fardan carried on his good form from the last meeting, scoring a 2nd and a 3rd place, while Cong Fu Cheng’s 2nd place in Race 2 meant he now shares the lead in the National Class standings.
With most drivers being able to post very similar laptimes, a top qualifying performance was essential in securing a good spot on the starting grid. Al Fardan did just that, and put his car in 3rd place for both races. He was just 0.158s behind the fastest National Class car in the first qualifying session, and only 0.057s in the second one. “Frankie” Cheng was more discreet, however, and could not capitalize on his strong showing in the Friday free practice sessions. This, combined with a technical decision that proved to be wrong, meant that the best he could get out of his Dallara Mugen-Honda were two 8th places.
Despite suffering from an electrical glitch in his car, Al Fardan drove a strong first race, holding on to 3rd place, and passing Ali Jackson for 2nd place when the opportunity arose with 10 laps to go. Cheng picked his way through the field, finishing 4th and scoring important points in the championship battle.
Al Fardan made a mistake early on in Race 2 which threw him to the back of the field, but benefited from a safety car period to catch up again. He then proceeded to overtake his opponents to finish once again in 3rd place, his third visit to the podium in as many races. Cheng was determined to put back his qualifying performance and charged his way up to 2nd place.
Ricardo Teixeira, the Angolan driver competing in the Championship Class, could only manage a 20th and 18th place in the grids for the two races of the weekend. Locked in battle for the duration of both races, Teixeira was not able to make much progress even if he was faster than some of the drivers directly ahead. He finished in 16th and 17th place.
Team Manager Bobby Issazadhe commented that “The National Class boys did well once again. Frankie fought back from a difficult qualifying, and Hamad showed that his form is improving race by race. We have been looking at Ricardo’s situation, made some adjustments and we hope that he can get back to the form he showed in the winter tests quite soon.”
Performance Racing is returning to Snetterton for a test next week, to prepare for the next round of the British Formula 3 International Series which takes place in Monza, Italy, on June 23rd and 24th.