4:27pm Wednesday 14th July 2010
By Andrew Simpson
KNUTSFORD driver Oliver Webb resumes his quest to be crowned a champion in his debut season as a British F3 driver at Rockingham this weekend.
He lies second in the standings after a dozen races.
“Anything can still happen,” he said.
“It’s been more than a month since the last round, which does feel like a long time ago, but I’ve been working hard to make sure we are at the front again from the word go.”
The teenager, who drives for Fortec Motorsport, trails series leader Jean-Eric Vergne (Carlin Motorsport) by 34 points ahead of the three-race meeting in Northamptonshire.
And Webb believes he can still finish first despite being a rookie.
He added: “I want to prove that you do not need two years in F3 to become champion.
“I believe I can do the job and I can do it with Fortec; we’ve made a pretty good job of proving it so far and if we keep going at this rate I think we can beat the rest.
“It’s a tough challenge of course, but one I’m loving.”
An extra element this weekend will be the introduction of pit stops in the second of the three races.
Mandatory breaks similar to those seen in F1 will be tried for the first time, leaving teams and drivers with plenty to ponder.
Testing on Friday will be followed by a half hour race on Saturday.
A 20-minutes sprint, including the pit stop, follows on Sunday before the 40-minutes feature race later the same day.
Webb said: “The introduction of pit stops given us a lot to think about.
“I’m looking forward to it though.
“I was fastest in the test at Rockingham at the end of last year so I know the car is quick there.
“It’s a tough track – and a demanding one physically – but I hope to repeat the trick on Sunday.”
Meanwhile Webb was seventh fastest in testing at Brands Hatch on Tuesday when the drivers returned to action following a six-weeks lay-off.
Teenager Will Buller (Hitech Racing) topped the timesheets on the Kent circuit’s Grand Prix configuration.
He headed home a trio of Carlin men – Adriano Buzaid, Jean-Eric Vergne and James Calado – with the former just 0.037s behind Buller.
Calado had been quicker in the wet morning session.
The series heads to Brands Hatch for its final round in September.
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