In an action packed weekend at the Autopolis Circuit that featured three qualifying sessions and three races in the space of two days due to a dramatic typhoon canceling out the scheduled testing on Thursday and Friday, Jarvis managed to post 2^nd, 3^rd and 2^nd place finishes respectively in just his first time at this race track, which is one of the longest and most challenging in the calendar.

“I was relying on some good test days as I’d never driven around this circuit before,” explains Oliver “when Thursday’s testing was hit by the typhoon after just an hour of wet testing we had hoped Friday would be okay but that session had to be cancelled too due to heavy rain.  I was actually hoping for a wet qualifying session, which of course didn’t materialize.”

First Qualifying was used as a ‘track learning exercise’, but despite this Jarvis still posted a quick time on the third lap which was only beaten by Roberto Streit on his final lap allowing Jarvis to start Race 1 on the front row of the grid.   Jarvis got off to a good race start chasing Streit into the first corner, putting the Brazilian under constant pressure, and finished 2^nd across the line.

Going into second Qualifying in more confident mood, Jarvis went out on the warming track in a bid to set his quickest lap.  All was going well until a suspected car problem slowed him down.  By the time Jarvis had resolved the issue, his tyres were past their best so he had to settle for P4 on the grid in Race 2.Making a good start in the second race (Round 12 of the series), he quickly passed Hiroaki Ishiura and got a tow from Kazuya Oshima who blocked Jarvis’ attempts to pass.  Jarvis, frustrated because he was clearly the quickest on this notoriously difficult to overtake circuit, had to be content with finishing in third place. 

Third and final Qualifying brought with it significant track changes causing a slight error by Jarvis in the opening lap.   Still quick, he set a time for P2.   Making a great start off the grid in Race 3 (Round 13) Jarvis challenged Oshima into the first corner but despite being very competitive, was never able to mount a serious challenge for the race win, so finished second past the chequered flag.“Although in essence the weekend was successful with three out of three podium finishes, I also found it very frustrating due to the lack of valuable testing.  I’m still second in the Championship but obviously Roberto Streit has widened his lead and Oshima continues to move closer, so I think it is going to be a real battle right to the end this year,” says Oliver Jarvis.

It’s off to Fuji on 25 and 26 August for Rounds 14 and 15 of the All Japan F3 Championship.

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