Keohane on fourth row for British Formula 3 opener

Source 05/04/2003 - 11:16:08 am Cork racing driver, Michael Keohane, driving with the Promatecme team will start tomorrow’s first round of the British Formula 3 Championship in Donington Park on the fourth row of the grid. 31 cars lined up for today’s first qualifying session at the East Midlands circuit and Keohane posted his fastest time - one minute 04.597 seconds early in the twenty-minute session. Elsewhere, Adam Carroll (Sweeny Racing) from Portadown, with the new Lola Dome chassis qualified down in 18th. place with a time of one minute 05.416 seconds. His team mate, Ernesto Viso from Venezuela, qualified an impressive tenth and topped the times for the Scholarship Class drivers. Ballymena’s, Ivor McCullough posted the second fastest time in the Scholarship category where the cars are two years older than the Championship Class cars. The fastest time was set by Britain’s, Jamie Green ahead of his Carlin Motorsport team mate, Richard Antinucci. Rob Austin was third from Nelson Piquet Jr.

1. Jamie Green 1m. 04.167s.
2. Richard Antinucci 1m. 04.268s.
3. Rob Austin 1m. 04.318s.
4. Nelson Piquet Jr. 1m. 04.506s.
5. Ronnie Bremer 1m. 04.559s.
6. Alan van der Merwe 1m. 04.570s.
7. Michael Keohane 1m. 04.597s.
8. Fauzy Fairuz 1m. 04.855s.
9. Clivio Piccione 1m. 04.902s.
10. Ernesto Viso 1m. 04.927. Scholarship Class Top 3: Ernesto Viso 1m. 04.927s. Ivor McCullough 1m. 05.292s. Karun Chandhok 1m. 05.302. The second qualifying session (for tomorrow’s second race) takes place this afternoon. Meanwhile, in Kirkistown, Quentin Smith set the pace in the Fiat Punto Abarth Cup ahead of Liam Denning and defending champion, Richie Faulkner. Joe Freeburn was fourth quickest in the session. Rally star, Andrew Nesbitt was 21st.