Paul Ip and Henri Karjalainen join Team Goddard Jan 11 07
Hong Kong Chinese driver, Paul Ip, and Finn Henri Karjalainen have joined Team Goddard for the Asia Formula Three Pacific Series. The first race will be held at the Zhuhai Circuit in China on January 21st and is shaping up to be an extremely competitive event.
This will be Paul Ip's debut in the series and he will be driving one of the Team's Dallara 304 TOM'S cars. The 27 year old driver raced in the Radical World Series in 2006 and the team has been impressed with his pre-season testing over the past week at the Zhuhai Circuit. Finnish driver, Karjalainen is no stranger to the team or the Chinese track, having raced for the team in the Sentul round of the 2006 AF3 Series and won a round of the 2006 Asian Formula Renault Series at the Zhuhai circuit.
Karjalainen will also drive a Dallara 304 TOM'S car and must start as one of the pre-race favourites to take a race win. The first race in Zhuhai looks like it will be extremely competitive with many competitive drivers coming on board for the AF3 Pacific mini-series.
Karjalainen wins race one of the AF3 Pacific Series for TGf3 - Jan 20 07
Henri Karjalainen took a lights to flag win from pole position with Oliver Turvey second and Walter Grubmuller third. The Promotions class was won by James Littlejohn . Team Goddard's Paul Ip finished seventh in his first F3 race.
Karjalainen made a good start and was never headed whilst fellow front row starter, Walter Grubmuller, made a poor getaway and dropped to third behind a fast starting Oliver Turvey. Moreno Soeprapto spun at turn four and spent the rest of the race playing catch up.
Karjalainen controlled the pace at the front of the field, the gap back to Turvey remaining around the one second mark for the entire race. Walter Grubmuller was on a real charge after dropping back over the first few laps and set the race's fastest lap on the final tour. Next up was Dillon Batisitni from James Littlejohn, Philip Forsman, Paul Ip and Moreno Soeprapto.
Henri Karjalainen wins round two - Jan 21 07
Team Goddard's Henri Karjalainen took another lights to flag win in round two of the Asian F3 Pacific Series. Team Mate Paul Ip was sixth.
It all went wrong in round three when Oliver Turvey ounted Karjalainen out of first place and into retirement. Whilst Turvey went on to win he was penalized 30 seconds for causing an avoidable accident and dropped to third. Team Mate, Paul Ip finished fifth.
Team Goddard are proving to be the pace in Asian F3 Pacific and Karjalainen looks set to dominate the series if he can avoid errant competitors.
Team Goddard dominate Zhuhai weekend - Jan 25 07
Team Release: Team Goddard dominated the first round of the AF3 Pacific Series in Zhuhai with Henri Karjalainen taking pole position in qualifiying and winning two of the three races, robbed of the final race win by some over aggressive driving. Paul Ip also took a fifth and sixth place finish from the weekend.
Karjalainen had raced for the team in Indonesia last year and demonstrated great promise in the team's 301 car and when installed in a Team Goddard Dallara 304 TOM'S he was immediately setting the pace and was comfortably on pole position for race one. He went on to take a lights to flag finish from McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner Oliver Turvey with Walter Grubmullerin third, the Finn never having to push to the limit and driving well within himself.
Race two was the same story whilst race three run in damp conditions spoilt the almost perfect weekend. A poor start dropped Karjalainen to second but he was soon back in the lead with a great pass on Dillon Battistini at turn 4. Oliver Turvey got a run on the exit of the same corner a couple of laps later and drew alongside Karjalainen at the flat out 200 kph turn 6. The resultant attempted pass saw Karjalainen out on the spot whilst Turvey survived to take the flag first. However the stewards took a dim view of the over aggressive driving and docked Turvey 30 seconds for causing an avoidable accident.
Karjalainen and Turvey are equal on points in the driver's championship. "The team gave me a perfect car and we almost had a perfect weekend" reported Karjalainen. "Henri barely out a foot wrong all weekend and he demonstrated he is a real talent and can follow in the footsteps of Hakkinen and Raikkonen. The fact that he beat Oliver Turvey in a straight fight reflects the speed he possesses and also how competitive Asian F3 is now" stated Team Boss, Mark Goddard.
Paul Ip, also in a Dallara 304 TOM'S, enjoyed his first F3 race and improved throughout the event to finish in fifth in the final race. "Paul's driving developed throughout the event and we were all very happy with his performance" said Goddard.
Renowned driver coach, Malcolm Smith, was on hand to help Paul Ip and his advice to both Paul and Henri certainly helped with their performances.
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Moreno joins Team Goddard for Melbourne - Feb 09 07
Moreno Soeprapto will race a Team Goddard Dallara 304 TOM'S in the Melbourne F1 GP support event. He joins Paul Ip and Championship leader, Henri Karjalainen in the Team.
Team Proprietor, Mark Goddard, reported "It's a bit like welcoming him home as he raced for our sister team, Eurasia Motorsport, in F.BMW Asia in 2004. He won the Shanghai GP support race so we hope he will make a habit of winning in front of an F1 crowd.!"
Team Goddard robbed by bad luck in Melbourne - Mar 20 07
Team Release: Team Goddard's Henri Karjalainen set the pace in the Asian F3 Pacific class in the Melbourne F1 GP support races but was robbed by bad luck and the bad judgment of his rivals. Team Mate, Moreno Soeprapto, also suffered bad luck although he did take a class win in the first race.
Henri Karjalainen started tenth in race one after suffering an engine problem in qualifying but was up to fourth place overall, first in Class, by the end of the first lap. A safety car period proved his undoing when Charlie Hollings went for a gap that did not exist at the restart sending Henri into the air and out of the race. Hollings went on to win the race whilst Karjalainen would start race two from 28th place. The stewards found Hollings to be totally responsible for the accident but this was little consolation for the Finn. Ironically Hollings had won for Team Goddard in a one off appearance at Batangas last year. "We know there was no malice in Charlie's actions" reported Mark Goddard "but that didn't help Henri whose weekend was effectively over".
Moreno Soeprapto, in his first race for the team, was an impressive first in class and looked like he was going to be a factor for the rest of the event. Race two was only six laps long and Karjalainen did a great job to finish 12th overall. Moreno was a little too cautious and finished 8th overall but second in class. "I didn't see the last lap board and was surprised to see the chequered flag as I had planned to take the class lead on the last lap!" reported Moreno.
Race three looked like it would be the turn around for the team. Soeprapto was starting 8th and Karjalainen 12th. "We went for a very low down force set up so I could overtake on the straights and used old tyres to save the final new set for the last race when we hoped we would start in the top six" reported Karjalainen. It all went wrong at the first turn when James Winslow tagged the front wing of Soeprapto and he was forced to struggle with an understeering car. Meanwhile Karjalainen ran wide at turn one and rejoined down in 16th place. He then put on a great come back drive which ended when he caught Moreno. The Finn dived up the inside at turn 15 and an unsighted Moreno turned into him. Moreno was launched into the air whilst Karjalainen spun and rejoined in 11th place. Soeprapto rejoined in 15th.
"We had a discussion after the race about team mates not running into each other!" said Team Manager, Mark Goddard. Race four was a complete disaster with Moreno out on the spot at turn one after contact on the first lap whilst Karjalainen struggled to a finish with badly bent front suspension after he was hit at the start. "Henri showed he was the pace of the AF3 field with his fastest lap times in race 2 and 3 and we are sure if Charlie had not taken him out in race one he would have been on the overall podium." reported Goddard. "Moreno also had the pace but James Winslow in race three and the start-line shunt in race four put paid to his chances".
Team Mate, Paul Ip, finished second in the AF3 Pacific Promotions Class in races one and three but spun into retirement in race two and failed to take the start for race four when his engine failed during its warm up in the paddock. "We are not sure what went wrong until it goes back to TOM'S for investigation" said Goddard.
Next round of the Asian F3 Pacific Series is Sentul on May 12-13th.
"Henri and Moreno have the pace to lead from the front there so I think we have a very good chance of re-taking the championship lead there" remarked Goddard. "However Battistini has a 28 point lead so its going to be hard to take the Series lead in Sentul unless he has some bad luck but I am sure we should head the points after the last race in Zhuhai on June 24th"
Championship showdown at Zhuhai - June 20 07
Team Goddard driver, Henri Karjalainen, currently lies three points behind championship leader, Dillon Battistini, as the Asian F3 Pacific series goes into the last round at Zhuhai on June 23-24. Karjalainen is confident he can take championship honours and join his team mate, Promotion Class champion elect, Paul Ip as an AF3 Pacific champion.
"We have been the pace all year and its only the misjudgments of rival competitors who have crashed into Henri that has lead to us behind in the points. As long we have no bad luck we are confident Henri will win the driver's series" reported team owner, Mark Goddard.
Henri and Paul will be joined by Moreno Soeprapto and Robin Tato. Moreno still has a mathematical chance of winning the series whilst Robin will hope to continue his improving form after the last event at Sentul in his home Country, Indonesia. Paul Ip will race in the Promotions Class in his 301 Dallara whilst his team mates will all drive Dallara 304 models.
TGF3 crowned AF3 Pacific team champions - Jun 26 07
Team Goddard clinched the AF3 Pacific Series team championship after the final round held at the Zhuhai Circuit in China on June 24th. Team Goddard's Paul Ip was crowned Promotions Class Champion and Henri Karjalainen finished second overall in the Series. TGF3's Moreno Soeprapto won the final race of the series.
Karjalainen was very disappointed to finish second. "The car was perfect but missing the final part of qualifying because I went off meant I started second for the first race of the weekend and in all three races I made bad starts which spoilt my chances" rued Karjalainen.
Moreno Soeprapto took two third places and a win from the weekend whilst Paul Ip brought home the Promotions Class trophy despite non-finishing two races. "The team were disappointed that Henri did not win the drivers championship. He is extremely talented and has a great future in front of him but this weekend was just not to be. He was very sick with food poisoning and was unable to leave his hotel room for the three days prior to the event so we were all impressed with his effort this weekend" reported Team Proprietor Mark Goddard.
The team are now gearing up for the 2007-2008 Asian F3 Series which starts in October.
Karjalainen's Turkish delight - Aug 21 07
Asian F3 driver, Henri Karjalainen, will race in this weekend's Turkish GP2 event supporting the F1 Grand Prix. He replaces Markus Niemela, who dislocated his shoulder in the Hungarian GP race, at BCN competition. Niemela is expected to make a return in Monza. Karjalainen's results in this years AF3 Pacific Series were instrumental in his been given this opportunity.
Karjalainen won five races on his way to second in the Asian F3 Pacific Series and this led to his name being at the top of the list to replace his injured Countryman, fellow Finn Markus Niemela. He will be jumping in at the deep end, having never sat in a GP2 car nor seen the Turkish track. Asian F3 has once again demonstrated it is one of the most cost effective steps on the way to the higher echelons of the sport.
Team Goddard's Frederic Vervisch & Rafael Suzuki qualify 1/2 - Nov 23 07
Frederic Vervicsh qualified first for the first round of the 2007-8 Asian Formula Three Series which will be held on Saturday 23rd at the Sepang A1GP event. He was followed by his team mate, Rafael Suzuki ,Hamad Al Fardan and Matt Howson. Arturo Gonzales will start in fifth place.
Vervisch and Suzuki made it a Team Goddard one two with new to AF3 Team GFH Bahrain in third coutesy of Al Fardan. Former F.BMW UK star, Matt Howson, gave PTRS a good debut run in the series. David Julian was fastest Promotions Class car in his Team Goddard Dallara 398.
Top Qualifying Times
Frederic Vervisch 2.02.484
Rafael Suzuki 2.02.919
Hamad Al Fardan 2.03.397
Matthew Howson 2.03.850
Arturo Gonzales 2.05.524
Team Goddard second and third in Sepang race one - Nov 24 07
Team Goddard's Frederic Vervisch and Rafael Suzuki finished in second and third places in the first round of the Asian F3 Series 2007-8 held at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia. David Julian in the teams Dallara 398 was Promotions Class winner.
Vervisch and Suzuki had wrapped up the front row in qualifying but it was Hamad Al Fardan who led into turn one after a fantastic start. Vervisch was alongside into turn four but contact was made spinning the Belgian to the tail of the field. In a great come-back drive, Vervisch scythed his way back up the field to finish second and take a point for fastest lap over one second quicker than the race winner. "I should have been more patient" rued the Belgian.
Suzuki was slow off the line dropping to fifth place but he was soon on the tail of the battling Matt Howson and Arturo Gonzales. However Howson touched Gonzales under braking for turn nine on lap four, pitching the Mexican into a wild spin. Rafael was forced to brake to a standstill to avoid Gonzales whilst Howson continued unabated. Once free of Gonzales, Suzuki then closed on Howson and despite getting alongside at the last turn on the final lap he just failed to grab third place. However Howson was given a thirty second penalty for a false start, he was outside his starting box, dropping him to fifth behind Gonzales.
David Julian had a spirited race with Paul Ip before finishing his first International race on the Promotions Class podium. "I had a blast" reported the delighted American.
Round two will be held tomorrow and Vervisch is confident he has the speed to win whilst Suzuki is confident of a good finish, even a win of he can make a good start.
Vervisch second again, Suzuki fourth in round two at Sepang - Nov 25 07
Frederic Vervisch had the speed to win but just couldn't find a way past Hamad Al Fardan after a race long dice. Rafael Suzuki again put in a tardy first lap but was able to claw his way back to fourth place narrowly failing to take third spot on the line. David Julian won the Promotions Class.
Hamad made another good start and despite enormous pressure from Vervisch he never made a mistake and just came home first. Vervisch got alongside his rival on several occasions but never made the pass stick. "I think we had the fastest car today, I got fastest lap, but Hamad drove a good defensive race and I just could not find a way past" reported Vervisch. "Still as I got pole and two fastest race laps I am only seven points down".
Suzuki tried the outside line at turn one on the first lap and got hung out to dry dropping down to fifth place again. He was soon on the move forcing his past Gonzales at turn one on the third lap and he then got his head down and chased after Matt Howson, setting an extremely fast lap time. He was very close to Howson on the last lap, closing to within a second at the line.
David Julian had a good race to win the Promotions Class again.
"We demonstrated we had the fastest car out there and I am sure we will have a good chance of winning in the next round at Zhuhai on December 15-16th." reported Mark Goddard. "Frederic has the pace and experience in F3 to win and Rafael was improving with each lap and I am sure will be extremely competitive in China."
Vervisch victorious in Zhuhai race one - Dec 15 07
Frederic Vervisch of Team Goddard won round three of the Asian F3 2007-8 Series at the A1GP Zhuhai, China event today. His team mate, Rafael Suzuki, finished third with Team Goddard's David Julian taking the Promotion Class spoils.
Pole sitter, Rafael Suzuki, had too much wheel spin at the start and was down in fourth place after the first turn. His Team Goddard team mate, Frederic Vervisch, made a better start from second on the grid and took the lead from Matt Howson and Hamad Al Fardan. Vervisch put in a stunning first lap and pulled out a good lead whilst Howson and Hamad squabbled over second place. The latter attempted to pass around the outside of turn one on the second lap and dropped to sixth place after a grassy excursion. This left Howson to fend off Suzuki, the pair rarely more than a few car lengths apart for the remainder of the race. Several times the Brazilian was very close but was unable to find a way past. Suzuki entertained the crowd with a high speed spin at the final turn on the last lap, losing only a couple of seconds in the process!
Meanwhile Al Fardan had got his head down and was on the tail of Arturo Gonzales by the penultimate lap. They were side by side through turn nine and into turn eleven Hamad lunged at Gonzales, spinning the Mexican. Al Fardan finished fourth on the road but was given a time penalty for the move and dropped back to fifth behind Gonzales. David Julian was Promotion Class champion, finishing behind Paul Ip.
Vervisch goes into the second Zhuhai round tomorrow full of confidence but with Howson, Suzuki, Gonzales and Al Fardan next up on the grid an exciting race is expected.
Vervisch makes it two in a row - Dec 16 2007
Frederic Vervisch of Team Goddard took his second win of the A1GP weekend at Zhuhai in China from Hamad Al Fardan. Team Goddard's Rafael Suzuki was third after a thrilling race with Matt Howson. David Julian, also of Team Goddard, was Promotions Class champion.
At the start Howson was off the line quickest and led into turn one with Vervisch right on his tail. The pair ran side by side for most of the lap before Vervisch swept around the outside at the fast turn ten and that was the last the field saw of him. Al. Fardan had out braked Rafael Suzuki into turn seven on the first lap and was soon on the tail of Howson. Once past Howson at turn one he tried all he could to close the gap on Vervisch, running out of road on the exit of T14 on occasion so hard was he pushing, but to no avail as the Belgian was able to control the three second gap he had opened up on the first two laps.
All the excitement was behind the leading pair with Howson defending hard but fairly to keep Suzuki at bay. On the third lap the pair ran through turn one side by side but without a place change and they tried the same again on lap six at turn nine. Again Howson stayed in front and the delayed Suzuki was forced to defend against Arturo Gonzales who had caught the battling duo.
Lap seven saw Suzuki again attack Howson into turn one, he was unsuccessful and it allowed Gonzales to get alongside and they ran side by side through turn three with Gonzales having to give way at turn four. However Gonzales was again alongside at turn seven, the Mexican just failing to find a way past. This had given Howson some breathing space but a mistake at turn 11 resulted him running wide and this allowed Suzuki and Gonzales to catch up again. The three were side by side down the pit straight and this time Suzuki was finally able to force his way past. Howson was just able to hold off Gonzales and whilst they fought Suzuki was able to pull away over the final two laps and finish a comfortable third whilst Howson was just able to hold off Gonzales at the line. It was a great race between the three young drivers and kept the large crowd entertained.
David Julian was again the Promotions Class victor. Vervisch now has a 13 point over Hamad Al Fardan but there are still 14 races to go over the final four events of the season so the championship is wide open. The next round will be held at Batangas Circuit in the Philippines on January 12-13th.
"We are confident we can win again in Batangas with Frederic and I am also convinced Rafael will continue his remarkable form. Zhuhai was only his seventh car event and the fact he was on pole position demonstrates his speed and with experience I am sure he will join Frederic on the top step of the podium" reported Mark Goddard.
Team Goddard, dominated the January 12-13 Batangas event - Jan 14 08
Team Goddard's drivers, Frederic Vervisch and Rafael Suzuki, wrapped up the front row of the Asian Formula Three event held at the challenging Batangas Race Circuit in the Philippines on January 12-13th. Vervisch went on to take three wins and a second place from the four races. He was disqualified from one race for reversing before the start and this race result is now under appeal. Vervisch leads the points race as he has his sights on the Force India F1 Prize for the champion.
Brazilian Rafael Suzuki put in two fantastic laps to take pole position from Vervisch, Niall Quinn, Hamad Al Fardan and Matt Howson. AF3 is currently incredibly competitive and any of these drivers are capable of winning.
Qualifying took place in dry conditions on Friday, Rafael setting a fantastic 1.26.962 over a second under the circuit lap record. Saturday dawned extremely wet, albeit this being the dry season in this part of the Philippines, and the race start was postponed several times before the officials felt it was safe to start. Frederic stormed into an early lead but at the turn three hairpin on lap two Hamad's front wheel touched Frederic's rear wheel causing him to spin down the field eventually finishing third. Rafael made a good start but almost lost in a puddle on the run into the first turn and dropped down the field. He spent the rest of the race playing catch up finishing in fourth place. It was his first wet race "I am learning so much each time I get in the car" reported Rafael.
The officials felt Hamad's move was a racing incident although Frederic was not happy with that view!
Race two was also wet and this time Hamad and Frederic put on a great display of racing with no untoward tactics. Frederic hounded Hamad for many laps, often getting alongside his rival but not able to make the move stick. He finally made it by at the turn three hairpin on lap 9 of 12. "It was clean move, close but we did not touch" said Vervisch. Rafael finished fourth after dropping to fifth at the start. Once past Niall Quinn he homed in on Matt Howson but just failed to take the final podium position.
Sunday dawned dry and the first race of the day was to prove controversial. Vervisch arrived on the grid after the warm up lap and overshot his starting "box". He selected reverse and drove back to take the correct position. Hamad made the best start to lead but Frederic was soon past at turn one on the third lap and pulled away to take an easy win. Behind it was much closer as Rafael, Howson and Quinn all battled for third spot. It all came to a head on lap 5 when the three touched and spun at turn one. Rafael suffered a puncture and suspension damage and was forced to retire from the race.
After the race the Stewards excluded Vervisch for reversing on the grid, a decision that has been appealed. This put Frederic near the back of the field for the start of the final race and he had a fantastic first lap getting up to third place. He was soon on the gearbox of Niall Quinn and it took four laps before he was able to find a way past. He then started to hound down race leader, Al Fardan, and it looked like he would catch him with a lap to go. However with two laps to go Hamad's engine went onto three cylinders and Frederic was able to sweep by into the lead. Rafael just failed to take the final podium position from Matt Howson, missing out by just four tenths of a second at the line.
Next round is at the same circuit on February 16-17th and Vervisch is determined to consolidate his lead as he chases the Force India F1 prize drive. Rafael has demonstrated he has the speed to win and he is determined to turn that speed into a race win.
"Team Goddard take three out four race wins - Feb 17 08
Frederic Vervisch won rounds nine to eleven of the 2007-8 Asian F3 Series held at the Batangas Race Circuit in the Philippines on February 16-17th. His dominent performance came to an end in round twelve when Matt Howson beat him to the flag. Team Goddard team mate, Rafael Suzuki, had two second and two third places from the weekend.
Vervisch qualified on pole position with Suzuki alongside him and he was able to pull away in all of the first three races to take accomplished wins. Suzuki meanwhile had a more evenful weekend having to fend off Matt Howson for the second spot. The rookie driver continues to impress with his performance and that elusive first win will not be far away.
The cars joined the grid for the fourth race with slick tyres mounted but the heavens opened and there was mad rush to fit wet tyres. Both drivers struggled in the race, having several off track excursions. "The set up that makes us so quick in the dry is not good in the wet and we were unable to change the cars in the time available on the grid" reported Team Engineer, Roberto Bautista.
Vervisch now leads Matt Howson in the points table with Rafael Suzuki in third place"
Team Goddard wraps up Asian F3 title - Mar 29 08
Team Goddard won the 2007-8 Asian F3 Drivers and Team title today at the Batangas Race Circuit in the Philippines. Frederic Vervisch took the title in style winning round 16 of the Series and wrapping up the title with two rounds still to be run on Sunday March 30th. His team mate, Rafael Suzuki, had taken his first win in the Series in the previous day, winning round 13 of the series.
Round fourteen had been won by Vervisch's championship rival, Matt Howson after both Vervisch and Suzuki stalled on the grid. Vervisch finished second with Suzuki third after storming drivers through the field. The Belgian then dominated round 15 to put the title within reach before ending the day with his win and a well deserved championship.