SUNOCO POWERS VERGNE AROUND ROCKINGHAM IN LESS THAN 71 SECONDS

Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne was the only driver in the Cooper Tires British F3 field to break the 71-second mark for a lap of the 1.94-mile Rockingham circuit during the official two-day test, which ended today.

The Red Bull racer posted his 1m 10.970s lap time towards the end of this morning's session; shortly afterwards he spun his Volkswagen-powered Carlin machine into a gravel trap and had to sit out the closing minutes. Jean-Eric was quickest again this afternoon but was eight-hundredths of a second off his morning pace.

"We had a good test," said Vergne. "I think we learned a lot about the car and the circuit and I was very happy to finish quickest overall. I think we are really making some good steps forward now. With every session I feel I know more about the car and feel more comfortable."

Fortec's rookie Oli Webb was the quickest runner on Monday and his time from yesterday, though two-tenths shy of Vergne's best, was good enough for second best over the two days as a whole. Vergne's Carlin team-mates James Calado and Adriano Buzaid were third and fourth fastest, with Snetterton pacesetter Daisuke Nakajima (Raikkonen Robertson) fifth, just ahead of his team-mate Carlos Huertas.

Remarkably, the top 13 drivers over the two days all set times quicker than last summer's pole position mark.

In the National Class, T-Sport's Menasheh Idafar was again the class of the field. He was run close on Monday by visiting Indonesian driver Rio Haryanto, the reigning Formula BMW Pacific Champion. Haryanto, who tested with Team West-Tec, plans to dovetail some British F3 races later in the season with a GP3 campaign.

Oulton Park, the Eastertime venue for the championship's opening rounds, is the next circuit on the pre-season F3 tour, with a day's testing scheduled for next Wednesday (10 Mar). British F3 is sponsored by US tyre manufacturer Cooper Tire and is further supported by Sunoco Racing Fuels, Anglo American Oil Company and Mirror.co.uk.

Cooper Tires British F3 official testing
Rockingham, Northants, 1/2 Mar 2010

Leading International runners Monday / Tuesday

1  Jean-Eric VERGNE / FRA,  Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen  1m 11.437s / 1m 10.970s
2  Oli WEBB / GBR,  Fortec Dallara-Mercedes  1m 11.211s / 1m 11.292s
3  James CALADO / GBR,  Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen  1m 11.860s / 1m 11.288s
4  Adriano BUZAID / BRA,  Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen  1m 11.918s / 1m 11.290s
5  Daisuke NAKAJIMA / JPN,  RR Dallara-Mercedes  1m 11.446s / 1m 11.410s
6  Carlos HUERTAS / COL,  RR Dallara-Mercedes  1m 11.755s / 1m 11.439s
7  William BULLER / GBR,  Hitech Dallara-Volkswagen  1m 11.469s / 1m 11.817s
8  Daniel McKENZIE / GBR,  Fortec Dallara-Mercedes  1m 11.623s / 1m 11.491s
9  Hywel LLOYD / GBR,  CF Racing Dallara-Mercedes  1m 12.195s / 1m 11.666s
10  Felipe NASR / BRA,  RR Dallara-Mercedes  1m 11.706s / 1m 11.689s
11  Rupert SVENDSEN-COOK / GBR, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen  1m 11.855s / 1m 11.888s
12  Jazeman JAAFAR / MAS,  Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen  1m 12.192s / 1m 11.947s
13  Gabriel DIAS / BRA,  Hitech Dallara-Volkswagen  1m 12.048s / 1m 12.017s
14  Lucas FORESTI / BRA,  Hitech Dallara-Volkswagen  1m 13.020s / 1m 12.416s
15  Alex BRUNDLE / GBR,  T-Sport Dallara-Volkswagen  1m 13.047s / 1m 12.706s
16  Jay BRIDGER / GBR,  Litespeed Dallara-Volkswagen  1m 13.143s / 1m 12.959s
17  Adderly FONG / CHN,  Sino Vision Dallara-Mercedes  1m 14.368s / 1m 13.992s

Leading National Class runners
1  Menasheh IDAFAR / GBR,  T-Sport Dallara-Mugen Honda  1m 12.560s / 1m 11.844s
2  James COLE / GBR,  T-Sport Dallara-Mugen Honda  1m 13.097s / 1m 12.422s
3  Rio HARYANTO / INA,  West-Tec Dallara-Mugen Honda  1m 12.792s / 1m 13.392s
4  Alex JONES / GBR,  West-Tec Dallara-Mugen Honda  1m 14.162s / 1m 13.199s

Invitation Class
Pietro FANTIN / BRA,  Hitech Dallara-Volkswagen  1m 12.807s / 1m 12.935s

Jean-Eric Vergne on his way to top spot at Rockingham. Image by Jakob Ebrey Photography

Full TSL timesheets: http://bit.ly/cJ2BO3

For further Cooper Tires British F3 International Series information and access to hi-res photography visit www.britishf3international.com
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Issued on behalf of SRO by Max Communications
British F3 and British GT media contact: Nick Carter
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