Hartley storms to Spa victory
Posted 2nd August 2008 by Simon Melluish
Brendon Hartley clinched an exciting race win in the British F3 International Series here at Spa-Francorchamps after making a last lap move around the outside of Sergio Perez as the duo ran down to Les Combes for the final time.
Perez held the lead for the majority of the race after finding himself in front at La Source on the opening lap as two seperate incidents involving a total of pole man Oliver Turvey, Atte Mustonen, Sam Abay, Walter Grubmuller and John Martin created havoc at the front of the field. All five of the afore mentioned drivers were either out of the race or out of contention and Perez was able to establish a seemingly comfortable lead as Brendon Hartley pressured Nick Tandy for second. Championship leader Jaime Alguersuari held fourth although he too was under constant pressure from Marcus Ericsson as the top five ripped away from the rest of the field.
Sergio's lead never looked in danger until Hartley eventually hustled his way past Tandy and into second but it seemed to be too late in the day for the Red Bull backed racer to mount a real challenge for the lead? The New Zealander then set a sequence of stunning fastest laps until he was able to reach Perez' slip stream at the start of the final tour. Hartley got a fantastic run through Eau Rouge and caught a tow off his Mexican rival who defended his position on the inside. As the pair ran side-by-side just yards from the apex at Les Combes it was Hartley who came out on top after a classy move on the outside.
Perez was able to hang on to second whilst Nick Tandy crossed the line to take a well earned podium.
Jaime Alguersuari finished fourth and he remains in the lead of the championship but only by a single point from Sergio Perez. Oliver Turvey and Brendon Hartley are now third and fourth respectively thanks to a victory apiece this weekend and it seems the championship is shaping into a classic four way fight for the title.
