Chris Dittmann Racing was left ruing what might have been after a luckless weekend at Brands Hatch in F3 Cup.
The weekend began in promising fashion, with team-mates Stuart Wiltshire and Tony Bishop locking out the second row for the squad during qualifying. Both spent time on provisional pole, but missed out by just a few tenths – though Bishop’s second-best time was enough to secure a front-row start for race two.
In the first of the three races, Wiltshire overheated his clutch on the startline, which transpired to remove him from the reckoning while he was later battling for fourth. Bishop’s race lasted little longer, spinning out at Clearways having just claimed second, breaking the lap record in the process. That left Malcolm Scott to come through to claim seventh.
Londoner Bishop’s front-row start in Sunday’s race two saw him again fighting for the lead for the first half of the race. The close fighting ended in vain, though, as he ran wide at Paddock Hill and into the gravel on the 12th lap. Wiltshire struggled off the line, stalling briefly, though he recovered with a charging drive to sixth. Scott spent much of the race on the edge of the top six, eventually taking ninth.
Bishop and Wiltshire were again involved at the front in race three. Bishop came through from the very back of the grid, fighting his way to join Wiltshire in the train for fourth. He had to settle for sixth and the second fastest lap of the race. Wiltshire pulled into the pits from eighth a lap early, having mistakenly thought he had passed the chequered flag. That promoted team-mate Scott into eighth place.
Chris Dittmann, team manager, said: “It is another case of what might have been, like at Donington Park. Luck wasn’t on our side, but both had the pace to win but for misfortune and small mistakes.
“Tony again showed brilliant pace, but again unfortunately wasn’t rewarded. He could have had his first F3 Cup win but it wasn’t to be. The positives are certainly there for them both, though.
“The non-finishes obviously haven’t helped us in the Teams’ Championship, but it’s a long season and we will make it up, I’m sure. We know we have the pace to do just that.”
Photo credit F3 Cup
