| Jarvis in Winning Form at Motegi |
|
Oliver Jarvis took to the top step of the podium once more with another commanding win at Japan’s Twinring Motegi circuit in Round 5 of the All Japan F3 Championship driving for TOM’S.
Qualifying’s (1) changing track conditions given the early rain and then drying sunshine meant that those later out were setting the fastest lap times. Jarvis had regularly topped the time sheets but got caught up in traffic on his penultimate lap. As he set about his last lap, he had to be cautious yet still set a fast time. He finished 1/10th sec behind Kodai Tsukakoshi and Kazuya Oshima.
Jarvis made a superb start in the first race from third on the grid to quickly seize the lead off the start when both Tsukakoshi and Oshima had wheel spin. Darting between them, Jarvis pulled to the inside of the track to take the lead. From then on, he kept delivering consistent laps, eventually opening up a virtual 2 secs advantage and also gaining a valuable point for fastest lap. As he passed the chequered flag comfortably, the 23 year old from Cambridgeshire also secured his second Japanese race victory and briefly sealed the lead in the Championship table.“It was great to get this second race win in Japan,” says Oliver Jarvis “I really felt happy with the car and we definitely were setting the pace.”
Race 2 (Round 6 of the Championship) was not such a happy affair. Starting from his first Japanese pole position, Jarvis was challenged by Roberto Streit off the start who tried to come up the inside. Jarvis, quick to react, closed the door and Streit took to the pit exit to pass. As the pit narrowed, Streit continued on the grass. Heading into the corner and despite some over-steer midway, Jarvis braked late to keep his lead and pulled away on exit to build up a comfortable gap, soon opening this by nearly 4 secs.
The race looked as though it was Jarvis’s for the taking having built up a convincing lead. Then, on lap 7, he was issued a drive through penalty for what was deemed by the stewards as being ‘aggressive driving’ during his earlier conflict with Streit. He had to be content with rejoining the race in fifth place, but pushed hard over the next 12 laps and once again, set the fastest lap. Even these valiant efforts were not enough and Jarvis had to be content with a fifth place finish. Commenting after the race, Jarvis said: “I congratulated Streit on his win who conceded that I’d been very fair into the first corner. He tried to make the move but believed that if it didn’t come off, there was potential to create a penalty given the strict regulations in Japan on ‘safe driving’. You learn your lesson as it appears that over the years many other European drivers have been caught out in similar situations. In Europe, it is just considered to be hard, but fair, racing! On the plus side, we have shown that we have very good pace throughout the weekend so I’m really looking forward to Okayama in June.” - ends - For further PR enquiries regarding Oliver Jarvis, please contact:Rachel Lambert, Kingston PR Tel: +44 (0) 1926 614696 / Mobile: +44 (0) 7831 645632 Fax: +44 (0) 1926 614795 Email: rachel@kingstonpr.co.uk |
