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20th April 2019 - Donington Park
HSCC Historic Formula 3 Championship Round 1
Donington Park, April 20
Milicevic takes the Season opener
Jon Milicevic started the 2019 season as he finished last year, at the head of the Historic Formula 3 field as he took victory in the season opener at Donington Park (Saturday April 20).
A god field of 18 cars arrived at a very sunny Donington Park for the opening round of the Historic Formula 3 Championship on Easter Saturday. After just one lap of qualifying the session was halted when the core plug blew out of Ewen Sergison’s engine on the main straight. Despite losing all the oil, no apparent damage was done to the engine, and Ewen together with newcomer Chris Thomson (Brabham BT21) qualified in the lunch hour to earn a place at the back of the grid.
The battle for pole raged between Milicevic (Brabham BT21) and Andrew Hibberd (Brabham BT18), with Hibberd setting the mark in the final minutes of the session. Mike Scott continued the Brabham domination by qualifying third in his BT28 with Goodwood star Andy Jarvis (March 703) fourth. Unfortunately, qualifying was the end of Mark Linstone’s day as his engine dropped a valve after he posted eighth fastest time.
It was Milicevic who made the best start and led into Redgate, never to be headed. Hibberd shadowed him for many laps and the two cars made a fabulous sight and sound until Hibberd slowed with suspected overheating and Andrew limped round to finish an eventual fourth. As Milicevic extended his lead, the battle for second became very intense with Scott defending from Jarvis.
Jarvis made the best move of the race when he dived around Scott on the outside of Redgate, but sadly his race was run the following lap with a broken rocker pillar bolt. Sergison had made good progress from the back of the grid to eighth place when he retired to the pits after feeling the engine start to tighten up.
Milicevic, Scott and Steve Jones, who ran strongly in the ex-David Purley Brabham BT28, formed the podium party while Hibberd had the consolation of fastest lap and fourth as Simon Armer finished first non-Brabham in fifth with his March 703. Paul Waine did well to get the De Sanctis ready for the event and finished sixth, while Keith Messer (Vesey) just fended off Barry Sewell (Lotus 41) for seventh. It was even closer for ninth as Leif Bosson (Brabham BT28) edged Simon Haughton (Chevron B15) to the line by less than half a second. Just outside the top 10 after an excellent HF3 debut was Gil Duffy (Brabham BT21B).
Paul Lawrence
