A brilliant performance by Cian Carey saw Chris Dittmann Racing finish with a podium as the F3 Cup got underway this weekend (20-22 April).
The Irishman moved up from P10 to third place and was unlucky not to finish with a win in the final race at Donnington Park to cap an impressive drive.
Meanwhile, father and son – Phillip and Patrick Jeans – showed vast improvement day-by-day with limited testing going into the new season.
And while it proved to be a difficult start to the weekend, the final race left the team positive for the rest of the Championship.
Team principal Chris Dittmann said: “It was a really positive way to finish the weekend.
“We had problems with Cian’s engine, which meant he didn’t have the power there to finish the first two races.
“But the team did an amazing job to fix the issue in time for the third race.
“Cian had a lot to do, but carried on with his form from last year to set some of the fastest laps and get into third – and was only a few seconds off winning in the end.”
Chris Dittmann Racing went into the 2018 Championship with three drivers.
Irishman Cian Carey was keen to continue his great form from last season that saw him finish third in the Championship, taking five podiums, including a win on the final race of the year.
Phillip Jeans returned to the team for a second season after five races in 2017, while son Patrick joined the team to take his first race in an F3 car.
But engine problems in qualifying for Cian meant the driver did well to finish P6, with Patrick in P8 and Phillip in P9.
The engine problems continued for Cian, with a DNF for the first two races.
Patrick finished P7 and P6 respectively, with Phillip P9 and P7.
But Cian made sure the team finished on a high with a superb P3 in the final race, while Patrick finished in P8 and Phillip in P10 – with the latter putting in his fastest lap, some 1.5 seconds faster than his best effort last year.
Chris added: “Seeing as Phillip had no testing before the race and his last race was back in September, he showed great improvement across the weekend.
“Patrick also showed great improvement with limited testing. He ended up lapping within a second of the front running cars.
“All the drivers showed some great pace and improvement and it’s a really positive start to the Championship that we aim to push on from.”
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