Impressive F3 Debut for Motorsport Ireland Young Driver Carey
Motorsport Ireland/Sport Ireland Young Driver of The Year, Cian Carey made his Formula 3 debut at Donington Park in Leicestershire over the weekend.
Having topped the timesheets in testing, Cian was confident ahead of the all important qualifying session, but fully aware that just tenths of a second would ultimately separate the top runners. As the times tumbled, the Meath driver found himself on provisional pole on a number of occasions during the session. When the chequered flag fell to signify the end of qualifying though, it was the hugely experienced Shane Kelly on pole position, with F3 novice Carey raising all the eyebrows by qualifying second, just 4 hundredths of a second slower.
When the lights went out for race one, Cian’s first F3 start did not exactly go to plan as he was swamped by the pack as they headed to Redgate Corner for the first time. Showing the form which won him BOSS Ireland title in 2016 though, the CDR run driver charged back up through the field. At the chequered flag, he had recovered to fourth, but crucially had not only posted the fastest lap of the race, but set a new class lap record on his first visit to the famous circuit.
On Sunday, in the second race, Cian’s hopes of a visit to the podium were dashed when an off on lap five unfortunately ended his race. This meant that he would start race three in an unaccustomed fourteenth place on the grid. Undeterred, the Irishman got the head down and charged his way through the pack, once again belying his lack of F3 experience. At the flag, Cian was in fourth place, but once again had posted the fastest lap of the race- marking himself out as one to watch for the 2017 F3 Cup season.
Cian Carey, Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of The Year:
“Probably not the weekend I would have wanted in terms of outright results, but I think we have showed our pace. I was quickest in both of the races I finished and to take the lap record on my first weekend in the series is pretty cool! Shane has got the jump in terms of the Championship with three wins, so we need to translate our pace into wins next time out! CDR gave me a superb car and I have no doubt that I will soon be repaying them with race wins!”
