Algarve Race 2

Going into second qualifying I knew Gabriel had more pace than me so the idea was to get as close as possible and if I could out qualify him then that would be great. After pushing for many laps I did not improve much on my lap time from the last qualifying session so in the end was 2nd place to Dias who was 1st and I was 24th overall. Again I was only 2 places behind which meant the job for the race would be easier.

After the first race all I had to do was finish the race and I would win the championship so staying out of trouble was the main thing on my mind.

The start to the race was pretty decent and I managed to get on the back of Dias from the start. I lost some places out to some of the quicker international cars after a few laps and I did not make the task for them very hard as finishing was the only thing on my mind.

I still kept pushing to try and get an opportunity to overtake Dias but he proved to be slightly quicker than myself and he ended up winning the race which left me finishing in 2nd place and 15th overall.

I won the championship by having 53 points more than Gabriel Dias with only another 42 points available at Brands Hatch leaving me more points lead than you can score in an event. Crossing the line and winning the championship was a fantastic feeling and knowing that the next round at Brands Hatch was completely pressure free. This is my first championship win and I will never forget it.

Many thanks to my dad who has managed to put me in a car this year with a difficult time to get money to race, my sponsors for this year without whom I wouldn’t be racing and my team who made the car in winning shape. Thank you all.

I was going to do the Brands Hatch race in the international car but due to the rules of the McLaren Autosport award in which I am a possible nomination for the shootout I cannot race in a class higher than Formula 3 National series. I will be racing in the same car I have all year at Brands and I hope to cap the year off in style.

Photo gallery

Click on thumbnails for larger versions.