Hitech takes maximum score at Silverstone

Hitech takes maximum score at Silverstone

Hitech Racing has taken its first win of the 2010 British F3 International Series season after Gabriel Dias secured maximum points in the second race of the weekend at Silverstone.

Having finished eighth in race one, Gabriel led the wet race through the early stages of the race before coming under pressure from guest driver Alexander Sims. Sims took the lead from Gabriel at Copse on lap five only for Hitech’s Brazilian racer to reclaim the position but after Sims made a move stick at Vale, Gabriel elected to focus on his championship challenge and settled for second place.

With Euroseries racer Sims ineligible for championship points, Gabriel secured victory amongst the British F3 regulars and maximum points from the race.

“Our focus is the championship so concentrating on getting as many points as possible was the aim,” he said. “I got into the lead and then had a battle with Sims for a few laps and we swapped positions before he got ahead and managed to get a bit of a gap. I could have pushed to try and keep up with him but he can’t score points for the championship so I focused on getting maximum points. The car was really good and it’s a great result for the team. I’m looking forward to the next race.”

Team-mate Will Buller lapped strongly during the race before an error on the final lap saw him spin off into the gravel, with the MSA Team UK driver looking to make amends in the final race of the weekend, which he will start from third on the grid.

“Will unfortunately got beached in the gravel late on, which was disappointing as he had been lapping strongly, but his focus for today was on the final race from the second row of the grid,” team boss Ryan Sharp said. “For Gabriel, it was a fantastic result and it’s great for the team to get its first British F3 win in only our second weekend. It would have been nice to win on the road but Sims was just too quick and Gabriel made the right call to play it safe and focus on getting maximum points.”