Kerr leads Formula 3 field for Oulton Park

AS the Avon Tyres British Formula 3 Championship enters the final third of the season at Oulton Park this weekend, results are becoming more crucial.

With nine races remaining, there is a maximum of 189 points on offer to any one driver. Series leader, Robbie Kerr (200), second placed James Courtney (191), Bruce Jouanny (152) and Michael Keohane (142) are the top quartet.

Kerr seized the initiative in the last round in Rockingham when Courtney was forced to miss the double header due to his accident in Monza while testing with Jaguar. Both drivers have sneaked clear of Jouanny and Keohane who are dicing for third. However, there is still time for either to make an impression. Keohane held second earlier in the season and showed tremendous form in his double win in Donington - the first driver to win a double round in 2002.

Qualifying still seems to pose a few problems for the popular Clonakilty driver, who only decided late on Wednesday evening to participate at the Cheshire circuit - his father Paddy is still recovering in hospital in Barcelona.

With all four Carlin Motorsport drivers winning a round of the current series, the Aldershot-based outfit will de determined to retain the championship. On Sunday, their 2001 drivers, Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson, drive in the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Last year’s Scholarship winner, Robbie Kerr, has shown a fine turn of speed, although he won’t need reminding of his disqualification from one race at Oulton Park last year.

Meanwhile, Adam Carroll is close to winning the present Scholarship title, the Portadown ace is in superb form and will be a strong force when he moves to the Championship Class in 2003. He is a whopping 123 points clear of Clive Piccione. Meritus driver, Stephen Colbert, third in the 26-race series, is capable of giving Carroll a close race. Gavin Smith, who also races with Meritus Racing is tenth overall.

Lap record holder David Jeffries headlines a cracking entry for tomorrow’s Ulster Grand Prix. The TAS-Team Suzuki GB rider who won three events on the Isle of Man earlier this season has a strong record at the 7.28-mile circuit.

The six-race programme as a prize fund of Stg£40,000. Jeffries, who set the course record of 126.858 mph in 1999, has his team-mate, Welshman Ian Lougher, Scotland’s’ Iain Duffus and Jim Moodie and Bruce Anstey of New Zealand and several Irish riders as opposition. The Irish challenge will be spearheaded by the in-form Richard Britton, now riding with Suzuki. Adrian Archibald, Ryan Farquhar, Martin Finnegan and Adrian McFarland are just some names looking for success. The GP race is over eight laps. The Supersport 600 and the 125 cc races should also provide fine racing.

Meanwhile, a round of the British Superbike Championship will be held in Ireland for the next three years, beginning in June 2003. Funding will be provided from Bord Failte’s International Sports Tourism Initiative, which has helped secure the FIA Sportscar Championship in 2001 and the British Touring Car Championship for the last two years at the Co Kildare venue.

Commenting on the sponsorship announcement, Niall Reddy, acting Chief Executive of Bord Failte said, “Bord Failte has worked closely with Mondello Park to develop the Co Kildare circuit into a major tourism attraction for Ireland. Over the next three years this event will yield great dividends to Irish tourism through increased visitor numbers for the annual event and through the invaluable media exposure that this exciting international championship generates.”

The event will be run under the jurisdiction of the MCUI Southern Centre who will be responsible for providing the personnel to run the event.

Formula Ireland and Van Diemen have united to create a karting scholarship where the winner will have the use of a ready to race Formula Ireland car in 2003. Although selection details remain fluid, the competition is open to all Irish karters who will be 16 years or over by next year’s Formula Ireland championship.

A shortlist of candidates for the scholarship will be created and the selection of the winning driver will be made later in the year.

Elsewhere on Sunday, there are Autocross events at Milltown, near Killarney and in Birr. There are concerns about the FIA Historic and FIA Touring Car races at Mondello next weekend due to a lack of entries. The Irish Rally Competitors Association (IRCA) are hosting the “marshal’s day” in Mondello on Sunday.