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<body> <Table Width="550" border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="0"><TR><TD Width="35"><IMG SRC="//www.totalmotorsport.com/images/spacer.gif" WIDTH="35" HEIGHT="1"></td><td> <CENTER><Table border="0" width="100%"> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="5">F-3</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2">20/06/2004</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="4">Carroll Leaps To Second In Championship </FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="3">Double Podium At Castle Combe</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="1">  </FONT></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2"><B>Carroll Leaps To Second In Championship After Double Podium At Castle Combe</B><BR> <BR> Wymondham-based P1 Motorsport’s young charger Adam Carroll (Northampton/Portadown) moved up to second overall in the 2004 Avon Tyres British Formula 3 Championship this weekend after two hard-fought podium finishes at Castle Combe Circuit in Wiltshire.<BR> <BR> A determined drive from fifth on the grid in the first race netted Carroll third place in Round 11 of the Championship – and after a bad start from pole in the second race, the impressive youngster consolidated second place to move within five points of Championship leader Nelson Piquet Junior.<BR> <BR> Ernesto Viso (Cambridge / Caracas, Venezuela), who just missed out on pole position in race one, secured fourth place points in the first race today (Sunday), but fell foul of the dreadful weather conditions in race two, spinning out whilst lying a strong third.<BR> <BR> <B>Carroll:</B><BR> “Although I’m disappointed not to convert my pole into a race win this afternoon, it’s been a good day in terms of points. The conditions in the second race were dreadful and it was important to bring the car home in a podium position. All in all it’s been a very tough weekend, but a rewarding one.”<BR> <BR> <B>Qualifying</B><BR> <BR> Rd 11: Adam Carroll – 5th, Ernesto Viso – 2nd <BR> Once again the P1 Motorsport duo of Carroll and Viso proved the supreme competitiveness of their package in British F3 this year, claiming fifth and second places respectively in the first twenty minute qualifying session – a session which saw less than 4/10th of a second covering the top ten cars. <BR> <BR> Carroll started where he left off last time out at Snetterton, right at the front of the pack, securing second early on, less than 1/10th of a second off provisional pole sitter Lucas Di Grassi. The young gun held onto second for the majority of the session, whilst teammate Viso struggled to find a clear lap. Unfortunately for Carroll, the cloud cover increased towards the end of the session, providing the ultimate engine conditions – and first Clivio Piccione then Danny Watts leapt up the order. Frustratingly unable to respond, Carroll found himself down in fourth with just a couple of minutes left. As the session came to its climax, so Viso was on a mission and determined to depose his teammate. Despite a wild exit to the ultra-fast Camp Corner, Viso held it all together on his penultimate lap to snatch second from Piccione – and in doing so pushed Carroll down one more place to fifth. <BR> <BR> Rd 12: Adam Carroll – POLE, Ernesto Viso – 4th <BR> The second session was every bit as competitive as the first, with no quarter given by any of the main protagonists. Whereas Carroll had lost out in the closing stages of the earlier session, this time he timed his lap to perfection. Having sat in fourth position until the final five minutes, the impressive Northampton-based driver put in the perfect lap to snatch pole away from Danny Watts by just 1/100th of a second. And with no one able to respond, Carroll took his second pole position of the season. Viso looked set to claim pole himself in the first half of the session, claiming early honours until a spin on lap nine. Once Viso had pitted for a new front wing and rejoined the circuit, it was clear that his tyres were past their best and try as he might, he couldn’t better his own time. Bumped down to third a few laps later, Viso ended the session in fourth when Carroll leapt up to pole in the closing stages.<BR> <BR> <B>Round 11</B><BR> <BR> Adam Carroll – 3rd, Ernesto Viso – 4th <BR> The tight and twisty nature of the 1.85-mile Castle Combe Circuit meant that qualifying positions – and the race start – were crucial. From fifth on the grid, Carroll made a decent start to power past Lucas Di Grassi on the run to the first corner. Now up into fourth, Carroll immediately swooped on teammate Viso round the outside, promoting himself into third. As pole sitter Danny Watts began to pull away from the pack slightly, taking with him second placed Clivio Piccione, so Carroll had his mirrors full of Viso who was on a charge. Concerned not to hold each other up and let the chasing pack, headed by Alvaro Parente, gain any advantage, the two team mates enjoyed a tremendous battle to the flag. Although Viso tried a couple of moves on Carroll, the Northern Irishman had the position covered each time and they took the flag nearly two seconds clear of their rivals.<BR> <BR> <B>Round 12 </B> <BR> <BR> Adam Carroll – 2nd, Ernesto Viso – DNF <BR> Unfortunately for Carroll, the very wet track conditions that greeted the grid as it formed up for the second race of the day, was to dictate the nature of the forthcoming race. Having made a very average start from pole, he saw his advantage immediately disappear as Alvaro Parente came storming through into the lead from third on the grid. With grip at a minimum due to the amount of water on the track, Carroll slotted himself into second and began chasing the leader. Although these top two quickly pulled out a decent gap back to the field, the chances of Carroll being able to do anything about Parente’s lead were slim. Caution flag after caution flag were deployed as the race progressed and drivers spun out in the conditions. Despite the treacherous track and a Safety Car period near the end, Carroll kept his cool – and second position – to claim his sixth podium finish of the season.<BR> <BR> Viso was unlucky not to join Carroll on the podium. A good start saw him overtake Danny Watts on the run to the first corner and claim third. Desperate not to let the top two get away, Viso looked the most likely challenger to the leading duo as he gradually pulled away from the pack and began closing the gap to the leaders. But having brought the gap down to just two seconds at half distance, disaster struck. Under braking for Tower Corner, Viso lost traction in the conditions and spun out of contention. A very unfortunate end to a supremely competitive showing.<BR> </FONT></TD></TR> </TABLE><BR> </CENTER> <BR><CENTER><font size="1" color="#808080" face="Tahoma">Copyright ©2000-©2023 TotalMotorSport</font></CENTER> </td> </tr> </table> </body>