Bernstorff takes reverse-grid victory at Oschersleben

Photo: formel3.de

British driver Emil Bernstorff has gotten himself closer to second place in the German F3 standings by winning the reverse-grid outing at Oschersleben.

Bernstorff, who lined up in fifth on the grid, made it up to second in the span of two corners, slotting in behind poleman Matteo Cairoli. The duo proceeded to pull away from the rest of the field, as the drivers behind found themselves preoccupied with defending from the charging Lotus drivers.

Despite a rather anonymous start, the newly-crowned champion of the series Marvin Kirchhofer methodically made his way through the pack, which culminated in an exquisite pass on Nabil Jeffri for third.

Lotus man Artem Markelov followed his German teammate after a retirement in race one, getting himself up to fourth. However, his move on Jeffri into turn one saw Markelov miss his braking point and park his car in the exact same way and spot as in race one.

As Cairoli began to slowly pull away from Bernstorff, it seemed the Italian was on his way to a maiden victory. However, he hit trouble in the closing stages of the race, subsequently letting both Bernstorff and Kirchhofer through.

With the leading trio then cruising to the finish in that order, John Bryant-Meisner picked up fourth, with Jeffri recovering to fifth after Markelov’s attempt forced him wide. Tomasz Krzeminski picked up sixth, while Trophy class winner Sebastian Balthasar brought the car home in second, one spot ahead of his championship rival Freddy Killensberger.

Race results

Championship standings

Trophy class (top 3)