- Tewkesbury-based team back amongst the silverware in UK’s premier single-seater series at Donington Park.
- Josh Skelton secures first British F3 podium, Varrone stars in the tricky wet conditions to boost points haul.
- Championship resumes at Brands Hatch (GP) on 29—30 August.
Chris Dittmann Racing brought home their first silverware of the 2020 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship season at a wet Donington Park last weekend [15-16 August].
Buoyed by a solid start to the UK’s premier motorsport series at Oulton Park a fortnight prior, the Tewkesbury-based team made the trip to the 1.95-mile Leicestershire circuit with Josh Skelton and Nico Varrone aiming for another good points haul.
An ultra-competitive qualifying session saw the times tumble lap-on-lap; Skelton eventually ended the session 7th on the grid for the opening race, with Varrone 14th.
Their fortunes differed in the race, with Skelton moving forward to secure sixth, and extend his one-hundred percent record of top-ten finishes, whilst Varrone was an unfortunate retiree on the opening lap at The Esses.
The Argentine rising star shone through in the reverse grid race, however, charging up eight positions through the field to take 11th at the chequered flag, with Skelton 14th.
It would be the final race, however, that threw up an absolute wet-weather classic in the East Midlands.
Skelton made a strong start from the third row of the grid to move into fourth on the opening tour and immediately began harassing the top three ahead – Kiern Jewiss, Kush Maini and points leader Kaylen Frederick – in pursuit of his maiden British F3 podium.
When the move came – at the Melbourne Hairpin at half-distance – it was a cracker, Skelton hanging it around the outside to secure the final spot on the rostrum.
Varrone, meanwhile, had stormed through the pack once again, dispatching four cars on the opening lap, then another five in steady succession to run behind Skelton and Jewiss in the closing laps.
Jewiss attempted a pass at The Esses, but bounced over the kerbs and Varrone duly pounced to promote himself into the top four.
If that hadn’t been enough drama for one afternoon, Skelton then duly put pressure on Maini for the runner-up spot; the two traded the place across the line with three laps remaining, but Skelton was forced to slot back in at Redgate.
He made no mistake second time, though, beating Maini off the exit of Goddards and out-dragging him to the chequered flag in a photo finish by just 0.101 seconds.
The net result of all three races puts Skelton sixth overall in the standings, three points adrift of the top five, with Varrone 15th but very much rising through the order race-by-race.
The action resumes next at the world-famous Brands Hatch GP circuit in Kent on 29-30 August.
Chris Dittmann, Team Principal said:
“First of all, congratulations to Josh on his first podium in British F3. It’s the highest level of single seater racing in the UK, so it’s no mean feat to be up at the front fighting for silverware, especially in his rookie season.
“And what a way to do it! Both Josh and Nico were exceptional, not just in fighting through the field in the final race, but all weekend in tricky circumstances.
“A word for the whole team; we’ve had more than a few challenges to overcome this weekend – and that’s not even on-track – but they’ve all risen to them superbly and it put us in a position to recover well and bring home some good points.”
Nico Varrone (#25) said:
“The team at CDR did a great job to fix the car after a big accident in testing. We were unfortunate not to finish the first race, but I’m very pleased to bounce back on Sunday with a double points finish.
“Coming through the field like we did, especially in such difficult wet conditions, is a really clear sign we’re moving in the right direction and it’s always great to end the weekend on a high.
“Now we’ll shift our focus to Brands Hatch, and hopefully to even stronger results next time out.”
Josh Skelton (#43) said:
“It’s been a good weekend for me, overall. Qualifying showed how close the grid is this year, but we got our head down and made steady progress in race one.
“The second race on Sunday morning didn’t go to plan; after a great few opening laps, I made a mistake and that cost us good points, but nevertheless, we showed really strong pace and that kept me positive going into race three.
“From fifth, I managed to bring the car home in second after a race-long battle that went right down to the wire! To get my first podium in British F3 is a big achievement, and a huge thanks to everybody at CDR for all their hard work and for giving me an amazing car all weekend. Onwards to Brands Hatch!”
