Douglas Motorsport stars Ulysse de Pauw and Harrison Scott took a fantastic podium finish each during the latest round of the British F3 iRacing Championship at Silverstone yesterday (31st May).

With confidence high following a memorable one-two finish at Spa a week prior, the talented sim racing team-mates were once again right in the battle at the front of the field as they tackled the Grand Prix circuit at the ‘Home of British Motor Racing.’

During a close-fought ten minute qualifying session, De Pauw posted the third fastest time for the second week running, with Scott close behind in fifth. Between them was this week’s guest driver Will Power, a former IndyCar champion and Indy 500 winner.

The British F3 grid served up a traditionally action-packed opening lap to race one. While Scott unfortunately had to pit after sustaining damage, De Pauw held position and then stormed into second place at the start of lap two.

The Belgian ace went on to edge clear of his pursuers and comfortably hold second place to the finish with a textbook drive for a second podium finish of the season. Scott meanwhile recovered from his pitstop and impressively fought back to 12th position.

The full reverse grid for race two placed Scott in 14th at the start. The 2017 Euroformula Open champion went on to produce a stunning drive through the field – made all the more impressive as he drove one-handed after fracturing his wrist the day before.

A sensational start saw Scott move up no less than nine places to fifth on lap one, and that momentum carried onto the next lap as he worked his way up to second. From there, a composed drive secured him a great podium result.

De Pauw meanwhile joined his team-mate in enjoying a superb opening lap as he worked his way up from 24th on the grid to 13th. After joining the battle for the top ten, unfortunate contact at mid-distance forced him into retirement though.

Following the evening’s racing at Silverstone, Douglas Motorsport remain third in the British F3 iRacing Championship’s team standings, while Harrison and Ulysse both sit in the top five of the drivers points.

Next up, the penultimate round of the season takes place at Brands Hatch GP on Sunday 7th June.

Douglas Motorsport scored a sensational one-two finish in the British F3 iRacing Championship last night (24th May), with Ulysse De Pauw taking a brilliant victory at home circuit Spa-Francorchamps ahead of team-mate Harrison Scott.

After both drivers suffered double misfortune in the opening rounds at Oulton Park a week prior, they hit back in style at the world-famous Belgian circuit with front-running pace throughout the event against a competitive field.

The Douglas Motorsport duo make a statement of intent during the one-hour free practice session as Scott led De Pauw at the top of the times. In qualifying soon after, third for De Pauw and fifth for Scott put them both in a good position to start race one.

The long, flowing nature of the Spa circuit traditionally produces fantastic slipstreaming racing and that was certainly the case in the opening encounter, with the Kemmel Straight in particular hosting some of the key moments of the race.

Strong starts saw De Pauw and Scott emerge from a frenetic opening corner in second and third respectively, and while Scott briefly got ahead on the first run down Kemmel, by the end of the opening tour his Belgian team-mate had sneaked back ahead.

Scott particularly excelled on that stretch of tarmac though and moves on consecutive laps got him past De Pauw and then the race leader, though on lap four he got a taste of his own medicine as his team-mate slipped past with the key move of the race.

Crucially breaking the tow soon after, De Pauw produced an exemplary drive from there to lead the remainder of the race and take a richly deserved win, while Scott was hot on his heels throughout to make it a top two lockout for the team.

With the whole 25 car grid reversed for the second race, they faced an uphill challenge to enjoy further success and sadly both found themselves caught up in a first lap incident out of their control. After each taking a pitstop, Scott came back to 10th with De Pauw 13th.

Post-race though a number of drivers were disqualified for track limits infringements, which resulted in both Douglas drivers being promoted five places in the final result. That means that following Spa, Douglas Motorsport now sit third in the Teams Championship, while De Pauw and Scott lie fifth and eighth respectively in the Drivers’ standings.

The full broadcast of the British F3 iRacing Championship races at Spa can be watched back on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/u6lqukuZJQE

Photo from Jakob Ebrey Photography

After showing front-running pace in practice, Douglas Motorsport’s single-seater stars suffered an evening of misfortune during the opening round of the British F3 iRacing Championship – the official esports spin-off of the BRDC British F3 Championship.

With motorsport suspended around the world due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, sim racing has enjoyed a surge in popularity as drivers from all disciplines of motorsport use online competition to keep their skills sharp and enjoy some close-fought racing.

Amongst those has been two of Douglas Motorsport’s two 2020 BRDC British F3 Championship contenders, Kiern Jewiss and Ulysse De Pauw, who have been picking in virtual silverware in competitive races throughout the past few months.

They were immediate entrants for the team into the new championship, while with team-mate Manaf Hijjawi not having a sim at home in Jordan, the final slot in Douglas’ entry is allocated to guest drivers. For the opening event, this was taken by former Douglas race-winner Harrison Scott.

Unfortunately a late issue with Jewiss’ sim meant he had to miss out on the first two races of the season at Oulton Park, but Scott and De Pauw were on the grid and immediately showed their front-running pace by both finishing in the top four in pre-event testing.

Scott excelled in qualifying too as he went second fastest, however an unfortunate moment on lap two of the opening race ended his challenge at the front. De Pauw meanwhile impressively fought back after failing to record a lap in qualifying and rose from the rear of the field to 9th at one stage.

Misfortune went his way late on though as he was unable to avoid a spinning car ahead, and the Belgian ace suffered further bad luck in the reverse grid race two as whilst challenging for third place, contact from the other car sent him into the barriers.

It was a similar story for Scott too unfortunately as he received contact on the run to the first corner on the opening lap. Following a tough couple of races, the Douglas Motorsport team are determined to bounce back next Sunday (24th May) during round two at Spa-Francorchamps.

Photos from Jakob Ebrey Photography