Chris Dittmann Racing returns to Northamptonshire for the second of two back to back rounds of F3 Cup at Silverstone, marking the halfway mark of the 2017 season this weekend.
Having endured an unfortunate weekend at Spa contesting a non-championship race, Cian Carey will be battling to return to the home of the British Grand Prix. Running at Spa-Francorchamps was restricted to practice only, thanks to an engine issue before race one that leaves his race weekend in doubt. His last rounds of F3 Cup at Silverstone saw him finally in the podium places: on the shorter National layout the Irishman claimed a third and second place in races two and three, getting ever closer that maiden victory. He’s currently third in the standings.
Gino Ussi’s strong return to racing continued last time out, scoring another top-six finish in race two to come back from a non-finish. Eighth in race three moved him to the edge of the top 10 in the championship, while his visit to Spa saw him come away with two top-10 finishes.
Ussi’s currently tied on points with team-mate Peter Venn in the points, who missed the previous rounds of the season. His recent Spa trip yielded 11th and a non-finish. He’s been a winner on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in the past, claiming the Monoposto victory in 2014, a year after he secured second in class.
Phillip Jeans returns to action, his car having had another successful outing recently. Team owner Chris Dittmann took the car to two podiums at Spa, but it is usual racer Jeans back in the cockpit for rounds 10 and 11 at Silverstone. He spent his weekend battling on the cusp of the top 10 last time out at Silverstone and will be looking to build on that when racing resumes on the full circuit this weekend.
Speaking ahead of the weekend, Dittmann said: “Cian’s engine failure is a real shame considering the pace he showed last time out at Silverstone. But, we keep our fingers crossed. They drove to Germany on the Saturday to drop the engine off to Spiess, however it is looking unlikely to be fixed in time. It’s out of our hands, unfortunately.
“Gino and Peter had some more good mileage at Spa, which stands them in good stead for this weekend. Hopefully getting back in the car so soon will carry momentum into Silverstone and they’ll be back in the top six.
“Phillip’s been doing great too in his first year; the first job is to get him regularly in the top 10. He showed strong pace a few weeks ago and I have no doubt he’ll be going even quicker this weekend.”
CDR races twice at Silverstone on July 1-2. Qualifying begins at 14:55 on Saturday, with the racing taking place on Sunday at 09:50 and 15:25.
