Turvey takes first F3 pole at Spa

Oliver Turvey took his first British F3 pole at Spa-Francorchamps today, to head a Carlin 1-2-3-4 qualifying result ahead of round 15 of the 2008 British F3 International Series. The Racing Steps Foundation driver had been the quickest driver throughout free practice, and confirmed his front running pace with his first pole of the season. Red Bull driver Brendon Hartley put his team mate under pressure however, lapping just 0.08 second slower to take second on the grid. Jaime Alguersuari was on the pace to take third place, while Sam Abay completed a Carlin top four, to record the team’s first ever 1-2-3-4 qualifying result.

As qualifying got underway, Carlin’s International Class drivers were the last to leave the pit lane, with ten minutes of the 30 minute session already gone. Abay was the fastest Carlin driver at the start, taking provisional pole position on his first attempt.

Team mates Oliver Turvey and Brendon Hartley soon followed suit making it a Carlin 1-2-3 with 15 minutes to go. Chasing his first F3 pole, Turvey set the fastest lap and just moments later Alguersuari made it a Carlin lockout on the front two rows, setting the third fastest time.

For the remainder of the session, Hartley looked to be the most likely to steal pole, closing the gap to Turvey to 0.2 seconds then just 0.08 seconds to claim second on the grid. As the session entered its final stages, Atte Mustonen set the fourth quickest lap, but the time was disallowed as he was deemed to have jumped the chicane. The final standing was Turvey, Hartley, Alguersuari, with Abay completing Carlin’s best ever qualifying result. A delighted Oliver Turvey said, “I’m really pleased, we’ve been quickest in free practice, but qualifying always seems different, there’s always the possibility that someone will suddenly go quicker. The car felt good and I think I might even be able to go faster tomorrow. It’s great to get my and the Racing Steps Foundation’s first British F3 pole, and hopefully we will be able to get the win tomorrow."

Team principal Trevor Carlin added, “I’m chuffed to bits with Oliver’s performance as this pole position has been on the cards for the last few races, it’s hard to believe that this is his first of the season. The whole team has performed incredibly to give us the top four in qualifying and it’s a great testament to all the hard work that has been put in since Brands Hatch. We’ve still got a bit of fine tuning to do for tomorrow’s qualifying and we hope to be as competitive as we were today."