Douglas Motorsport scored a hard fought pair of seventh place finishes in the BRDC British F3 Championship this past weekend (10/11 July), with Dexter Patterson and Reema Juffali putting in competitive performances at Donington Park.
The Corby based squad headed into the third meeting of the season in high spirits following a great start to the campaign, with Patterson having scored a podium finish on his debut at Brands Hatch and Juffalli picking up a fourth place finish last time out at Silverstone.
Two days of official testing prior to the event gave the team the perfect opportunity to fine tune their cars set-ups before the weekend’s action, with both Patterson and Juffali showing competitive pace as they lapped Donington Park’s 2.5 mile Grand Prix layout nearly 200 times.
The experience gained stood them in good stead for qualifying on Saturday morning, with a strong showing seeing Patterson finish 10th fastest and Juffali 17th. That put them both in the thick of the action for the opening race that afternoon.
Scottish rising star Patterson made some great progress through the race, gaining a spot on the opening lap before dispatching Bart Horsten for eighth at mid-distance. A faultless defensive display from there scored him the spot on the road, before he was promoted to seventh post-race.
Juffali meanwhile enjoyed some close racing through the race as she gained a position to 16th at the finish. While the Saudi Arabian ace would sadly not reach the finish in Sunday’s two races, she showcased her huge potential with a positive run from pole position in race three.
A slow launch off the line dropped her to sixth by the end of the opening lap, but she settled into position and posted a run of impressive lap times as she held off the pack behind. As she started to close on those ahead, an unfortunate moment coming out of the Esses ended her race.
Patterson meanwhile had made more progress forward in race two to climb from tenth to seventh, and he had high hopes from eighth on the grid in race three. After losing a spot on lap one, he then went on the attack and grabbed the position back before an early safety car period.
Picking up another spot after the restart when a driver ran wide, a fantastic dive into the Melbourne hairpin then secured him sixth place. Time penalties for rivals meant he was initially classified fourth, however a penalty of his own left him 12th in the final result.
“It was great to end a rollercoaster weekend with some top performances in race three. Dexter bounced back well from a tough Silverstone and showed he has huge potential in this championship with battling performances and three good, consistent finishes.
“It was an unlucky weekend for Reema, she made some good strides forward across the event and really impressed in the final race. Overall, it was another strong display from both drivers and we’re all looking forward to heading to Spa-Francorchamps next.”
“I’m really pleased to have made progress up the order in each of the races, and to battle in the top six in race three was a great end to the weekend. I’ve still got bits to work on in the car, but it’s starting to click and I’m excited for the next round at Spa.”
“Qualifying was tough, but I was pleased with the races. My pace was improving, I got my elbows out and got some confidence with my racecraft. I think in the final race I was able to show everything I’ve learnt in the last few rounds and there’s a lot of positives to take to Spa.”
The 2021 BRDC British F3 Championship continues in two weeks’ time (24/25 July) with a trip across to mainland Europe and the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.
Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography
