Championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne won for the seventh time this season in the opening British F3 race at Spa-Francorchamps on Friday afternoon.
The Frenchman led home a Carlin 1-2-3, as the British team dominated at the Belgian track, and extended his advantage over Oli Webb to 62 points in the standings as the Fortec Motorsport man came home in fourth.
Vergne took victory the hard way as he made a poor start from pole position, dropping behind both his Carlin team-mate James Calado and title rival Webb to run third in the opening stages.
He was back up to second on lap 2 as he passed Webb on the run to Les Combes and then began eating into Calado’s three-second lead.
He was on terms midway through the 13-lap race and slipstreamed past the Racing Steps Foundation-backed driver on the run out of Eau Rouge.
While Calado matched Vergne’s pace for the remainder of the race, he could do nothing to re-take his lead and the two crossed the line well clear of the rest of the field.
Completing the podium positions was Svendsen-Cook after he won a closely-fought battle with Webb, while the Fortec man took fourth despite strong pressure from both Adriano Buzaid (Carlin) and Daniel McKenzie (Fortec) in the second half of the race.
Felipe Nasr (Raikkonen Robertson Racing), Lucas Foresti (Carlin) and Hywel Lloyd (CF Racing with Manor) were seventh, eighth and ninth, while Daniel Juncadella (Prema Powerteam) grabbed tenth to finish as the best placed of the ‘Invitational Class’ runners.
Menasheh Idafar (T-Sport) finished 12th overall to take the National Class honours after re-passing team-mate James Cole who had got ahead at the start.
British F3 International Series result – Round 16, Spa-Francorchamps
1 Jean-Eric Vergne, Carlin, Dallara-Volkswagen, 29:36.710
2 James Calado, Carlin, Dallara-Volkswagen, +1.114
3 Rupert Svendsen-Cook, Carlin, Dallara-Volkswagen, +12.484
4 Oli Webb, Fortec Motorsport, Dallara-Mercedes, +13.407
5 Adriano Buzaid, Carlin, Dallara-Volkswagen, +14.234
6 Daniel McKenzie, Fortec Motorsport, Dallara-Mercedes, +14.877
7 Felipe Nasr, Raikkonen Robertson Racing, Dallara-Mercedes, +17.232
8 Lucas Foresti, Carlin, Dallara-Volkswagen, +18.108
9 Hywel Lloyd, CF Racing with Manor, Dallara-Mercedes, +20.032
10 Daniel Juncadella, Prema Powerteam, Dallara-Mercedes, +21.254
11 Carlos Munoz, Mucke Motorsport, Dallara-Mercedes, +30.767
12 Menasheh Idafar, T-Sport, Dallara-Mugen Honda (N), +32.896
13 Alexander Sims, ART GP, Dallara-Mercedes, +42.375
14 Nicolas Marroc, Prema Powerteam, Dallara-Mercedes, +42.744
15 Jazeman Jaafar, Carlin, Dallara-Volkswagen, +43.672
16 Jay Bridger, Litespeed F3, Dallara-Mercedes, +45.001
17 Jim Pla, ART GP, Dallara-Mercedes, +47.815
18 Alex Brundle, T-Sport, Dallara-Volkswagen, +49.024
19 Nathanael Berthon, ART GP, Dallara-Mercedes, +49.541
20 Daisuke Nakajima, Raikkonen Robertson Racing, Dallara-Mercedes, +50.565
21 James Cole, T-Sport, Dallara-Mugen Honda (N), +59.392
22 Max Snegirev, Fortec Motorsport, Dallara-Mercedes, +1:04.850
23 Adderly Fong, Sino Vision Racing, Dallara-Mercedes, +1 laps
Not classified
Gabriel Dias, Hitech Racing, Dallara-Volkswagen, 5 laps
William Buller, Hitech Racing, Dallara-Volkswagen, 3 laps
Carlos Huertas, Raikkonen Robertson Racing, Dallara-Mercedes, 0 laps
Watch British F3 highlights from Spa on Sunday 8 August at 6:35pm (BST) on Motors TV.
Andy Wilkinson
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