F3 Opening Weekend at Oulton Park

F3 Opening Weekend at Oulton Park

The opening weekend of the British F3 championshiop, 2017, took place at Oulton Park on the 15th and 17th April. All three races were run on the Monday and the Douglas Motorsport team can be happy with the results on the first day of competitive action.

Both Callan O’Keeffe and Petr Florescu secured a top 10 finish in race 1, with O’Keeffe making a great start from 12th on the grid to finally make his way to 7th place at the checkered flag, followed in 9th by Florescu. In race 2 O’Keeffe, after a first corner multi car collision which saw Petr Florescu’s race finished, a red flag meat a restart, but a spin of the wheels off the start allowed Enaam Ahmed past O’Keeffe. Despite this Callan managed to secure the final podium place.

The final race saw Florescu start with a poor grid position, despite this he managed to make up 5 positions to finish 11th, meanwhile Callan O’Keeffe narrowly missed out on  a podium place, finishing in 4th, but giving him 3 top 10 finishes on the day.

Kiern Jewiss Joins Douglas Motorsport for 2017 Ginetta Junior Championship

Kiern Jewiss Joins Douglas Motorsport for 2017 Ginetta Junior Championship

Douglas Motorsport are delighted to confirm that Kiern Jewiss will join the team for the Simpson Race Products Ginetta Junior Championship, 2017. He joins 2016 Rookie champ Daniel Harper and former karting star Tom Canning at the team.

The teenage racer, who is represented by Mark Blundell Partners, is looking forward to continuing his growth into a professional racing driver and believes the high-profile nature of the championship will provide a unique opportunity for the Kent-based driver to put his name out to national audience.

Kiern Jewiss, Driver; “I’m looking forward to the challenge of finally making the step up into the Ginetta Junior Championship. I’ve loved my time in karting but now is the right time for me to take the next step. My aim is to take each race as it comes. I’m confident with the car, it’s now about getting the mileage in. The Douglas Motorsport team have been great from day one and have helped me to make the transition from karting as smooth as possible.”

Wayne Douglas, Team Owner; “As one of the UK’s top karters, Kiern is great addition to the Douglas Motorsport team. Although it was a relatively late deal for all of us, which in turn has limited the amount of pre-season testing we managed to fit in, I am sure that once he has some track time in the G40 under his belt, he’ll be challenging for Rookie cup wins.”

 

Harper Back For Second Ginetta Junior Season With Douglas Motorsport

Harper Back For Second Ginetta Junior Season With Douglas Motorsport

Teenage Northern Irish motorsport star Daniel Harper will return to the Ginetta Junior Championship this season, with an outright title challenge his number one objective as he continues his successful partnership with Douglas Motorsport.

The 16 year old from Hillsborough will compete on the hugely popular Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship support package for a second season, following a truly sensational maiden car-racing campaign in 2016.Harper headed into his debut season as the latest winner of the coveted Ginetta Junior Scholarship competition, earning himself a fully-funded season in a Ginetta G40J – an opportunity he would take full advantage of with the leading Douglas Motorsport squad.

A stunning performance on only his second car-racing weekend at Donington Park would set the tone for the season ahead, with Harper securing a hat-trick of overall podium finishes including a tremendous breakthrough victory in the final encounter.

With that success under his belt, Harper would go on to record four more outright top three results with podium doubles at Croft and Snetterton – the latter including a stunning second race victory of the campaign.

It wasn’t just outright success that Harper was achieving, as he quickly established himself at the head of the Rookie Cup field. Fifteen class podium finishes, including no less than six victories, would guide him to a richly deserved title victory.

Harper has since been working hard with his family, team and sponsors over the winter to secure the backing required to return to the series this year and mount a challenge for the overall championship title.

Once again, the Ginetta Juniors will race in support of all ten BTCC weekends across the length and breadth of the country, with average trackside crowds of over 35,000 per weekend and millions more viewers watching the action live on ITV4.

The 2017 season kicks off next weekend (01/02 April) at Brands Hatch in Kent, a circuit close to Harper’s heart having been the scene of his championship debut twelve months ago, and then also his crowning as Rookie champion back in October.

Daniel Harper: “After a very long and anxious wait over the winter, I couldn’t be happier to be back on the Ginetta Junior Championship grid in 2017. I really cannot wait to get the racing started again.

“Although I’ve missed out on some vital pre-season testing, I truly believe myself and the Douglas Motorsport team can really challenge for the title this season. I will be giving it everything I have and I won’t give up until the last lap of the final race.

“Coming back with Douglas Motorsport gives me confidence straight away, as I know the team and I know I will always have the best possible car underneath me. Brands Hatch can’t come quick enough!”

Wayne Douglas, Team Principal: “Its great to have Daniel back on the team for another year. He showed in his rookie year what a talent he is and we expect Daniel will build on his success from last year to challenge for the outright title in 2017.”

Callan O’Keeffe Joins Douglas Motorsport

Callan O’Keeffe Joins Douglas Motorsport

South African racer Callan O’Keeffe will join Douglas Motorsport for the 2017 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship season, it has been confirmed today (27 February).

The 20-year-old competed in the recent British Formula 3 Autumn Trophy at Snetterton, finishing third overall with Fortec Motorsports. O’Keeffe has also made numerous Formula Renault outings during his career thus far, finishing seventh overall with three podiums in the 2015 Northern European Cup (NEC) category, having scored his maiden win in the NEC during 2014.Prior to that, he competed in the ADAC Formel Masters and Formula BMW Talent Cup, scoring four wins and nine podiums in the latter during 2012. O’Keeffe also enjoyed much success in karting at the world level, finishing as runner-up during the 2011 CIK-FIA World Cup in the KF3 category, and was formerly a member of both the Red Bull Junior Team and the Lotus Young Driver Programme.

O’Keeffe said: “I’m absolutely ecstatic to be back racing again. It’s a great championship and car so we should be set for an exciting year. It’s taken a lot of hard work to make this drive happen and I really have to say thank you to a few key individuals from South Africa who have helped enormously. Douglas Motorsport is a great team and I already feel really at home there. The hard work has begun and we will be doing everything we can to make sure that we get the South African flag flying above the podium this season.”

Wayne Douglas, Team Principal of Douglas Motorsport, commented: “It is fantastic to be able to welcome Callan to our team for the 2017 BRDC British Formula 3 season. He showed his talent and speed during last year’s Autumn Trophy and I am confident he will hit the ground running at Oulton Park

Petru Florescu Joins Douglas Motorsport

Petru Florescu Joins Douglas Motorsport

Romanian racer Petru Florescu will compete in the 2017 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with Douglas Motorsport.

Florescu finished in 6th overall in last years F4 British Championship, winning on 5 occasions. Petru, who is 18, is ready to take on his next challenge, British F3, and teams up with Douglas Motorsport where we are hoping to build on last years successful season.

Florescu, who hails from the Romanian capital Bucharest, combined his British F4 duties last year with outings in a number of other championships, including Eurocup Formula Renault and EuroFormula Open.

He began his single-seater career in the then named MSA Formula category during 2015 and prior to that enjoyed a glittering karting career, competing in various world-level events and finishing as runner-up in the 2013 WSK Final Cup in the KF Junior category.

Due to existing commitments  in EuroFormula Open during 2017, Petru will not be available for some British F3 rounds that clash with his his EuroFormula commitments.

Florescu said: “I love racing in the UK. I think the tracks here and the level of competition in British Formula 3 really separate the top drivers from the average ones. I am very happy to be able to add five rounds of the British F3 Championship to my programme this season and I am excited to be working with Wayne Douglas and his team. They are all very focused and very good at their job. We just clicked instantly and I am sure we will do well together this year, especially since I love driving the British F3 car!”

Wayne Douglas, Team Principal of Douglas Motorsport, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Petru to our British F3 team for the 2017 season. He proved last year in British F4 that he is an extremely fast driver and we look forward to helping him continue that success during the British F3 rounds he contests with us this year.”

The 2017 BRDC British Formula 3 season begins at Oulton Park on Easter Weekend (15-17 April) with the 2017 season consisting of 24 races across eight rounds at some of the UK and Europe’s best circuits.