British F3: Oulton Park Saturday Quotes

At the end of the first day of the BRDC British F3 Championship in 2019, Motorsport Radio caught up with the podium finishers from the first race at Oulton Park.

It would a Carlin clean sweep in qualifying and the race, though despite Kaylen Frederick taking pole, it would be his more experienced teammate Clement Novalak who took the race win on Saturday. He was chased to the line by Ayrton Simmons as Friday pace setter Johnathan Hoggard completed the podium.

Full Race Report: Here

Full Race Results: Here

1st – Clement Novalak – Carlin

On his return the British F3, Novalak proved he’d lost none of his karting pedigree, taking his maiden BRDC win (and third in single-seaters), after getting the better of Frederick on the opening lap.

“It’s good to be back here. I had one win in TRS last year, but since it’s been a long wait and all our hard work has paid off, so hopefully I’ll keep that going.”

The result is a vast improvement to 2018, in which the Brit had dropped down to third pole by the opening corner, before colliding with Krishnaraaj Mahadik at Hislops, bringing his race to an abrupt end.

“The starts were juxtaposed, as you’ve got one that was terrible, losing four places from P1, which you don’t normally see. Then the one today was really good. We managed to get alongside and it was just a case of holding it around the outside [of Cascades] and it worked out.”

Novalak had been fifth quickest during the combined Thursday and Friday tests, putting emphasis on the fact the track has warmed up over the weekend.

“The tracks changed quite a lot, so I think some of us adapted better than others, but they’re quick drivers we can’t afford to be making mistakes, so in the long run we need to be as consistent as we can. Hopefully we can get the goal we want in the end.” – Clement Novalak

2nd – Ayrton Simmons – Chris Dittmann Racing

Simmons was a pre-season favourite for the title and continued the momentum, keeping up with Novalak after the safety car period, remaining in contention for the win.

“We had good pace today and I’m happy with second place. We were on pace with Clement, gaining a tenth in some areas but then lose another tenth in another sector, so overall we had identical pace.”

The Chris Dittmann Racing driver is no rookie to the series after a handful of rounds last year with the same team.

“The few rounds we did last year we showed so much potential with no testing at all, we knew this year would be really competitive. They prep an amazing car and I’m driving it to the best of my abilities. I’ve improved a bit since last year already and I think I can carry on that way. It’ll be a really good season. The way we worked, the way we connected last year since the first race was amazing, so I can’t wait for the rest of the season.”

He was the highest placed British F4 graduate, though Simmons seemed unfazed about the comparison, focussing more on the new season ahead rather than his former rivals.

“You focus on the race as much as you can, but its always a bit of a positive. You look at the time sheets and people will be looking at the top 3 [in F4] from last year. So it’s a little point to look out for. But at the time, you focus on the race and try to grab that win.” – Ayrton Simmons.

3rd – Johnathan Hoggard – Fortec Motorsports

The Fortec Motorsports driver had been the driver to beat during Friday, but remained anonymous for much of the Saturday race, benefiting from Frederick’s misnomers. Though third will be a strong start to his 2019 campaign.

“It’s an alright start [to the weekend], qualifying didn’t go to plan. I think it was a case of getting my head down in that race and then seeing what I could do. So I took the opportunity when I could, but didn’t take too many risks. It’s a long championship and at the end of the day its only the first race.”

Unlike many, Hoggard did not bolt on a new set of tyres for the race, choosing to hold back a set for a push in race three in which he’ll start second behind Simmons.

“I’ve got similar tyres for race two, but then I’ll have new tyres for race three when everyone else will be on older tyres, so we hope for a better opportunity in that race.”

Keep up for the latest British F3 news.