Jewiss bags double pole and double podium at Silverstone
Kiern Jewiss continued his strong recent form at Silverstone this past weekend as he secured double pole position and two trips to the podiums in the penultimate round of the 2019 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship.
Qualifying
Kicking off the weekend at Silverstone with the round’s qualifying session, Kiern was instantly in the battle for pole position and at the halfway point in the session, he sat in third place – just 0.006-seconds behind Sasakorn Chaimongkol.
As the chequered flag dropped for the end of the session, Kiern was on a flyer and setting the timing boards alight. As Kiern crossed the finishing line, his rapid final attempt saw him secure pole position with a blistering time of 1:55.845 – setting a new BRDC F3 lap record at Silverstone.
Not only did Kiern secure pole position for the first race of the weekend but his second fastest lap time was enough for pole position in race three of the weekend – with Kiern becoming only the third driver this season to secure double positions.
“It was a good qualifying session, the car was amazing and the team did a great job,” Kiern said. “I’m very happy and what a way to do it with a double pole, and hopefully we can convert that into a win later on.
“On the out lap I always get a really good feel for what the car is going to be like when I do start pushing. It felt good so I had a bit of confidence straight away and I was fast. When the rain kind of cooled everything down it gave us one last chance to really go for it.”
Race One
With Kiern on pole position for the first time this season and Sasakorn Chaimongkol alongside him on the front row, the pressure was on for the British driver to get a good start. Getting off the line cleanly, Kiern came across to defend from his competitor but Chaimongkol got a slightly better launch and was able to get down the inside of Kiern heading into turn one.
Trying to hang on around the outside, Kiern eventually yielded the position and set about in trying to gain the position back. Putting his head down, Kiern was tight on the gearbox of Chaimongkol and was setting consistent lap times as he aimed to pull in the race leader and pull away from third-place Jonathan Hoggard.
Coming within metres of the race lead, Kiern unfortunately couldn’t get close enough to pass and had to settle for second place – making it back-to-back podium finishes for the second time in 2019.
“It was always going to be tough, and I would have liked to have got a better start and that’s where he got me – he got a slightly better launch and perhaps the inside had a bit more grip,” Kiern said. “It was a good race and a good amount of points and I’ll take it.
“I tried to get him on those last few laps but he just had that edge on me. But I’m looking forward to the next two races – they should be good.”
Race Two
Sunday’s action at Silverstone saw rain clouds gather above the Northamptonshire-based circuit and ten minutes before the reverse grid race began, rain fell making wet tyres the choice for the field.
Starting the reverse grid race from way back in 15th place, Kiern got off to a rapid start in tricky conditions and carved his way through to 11th place by the end of the first lap.
Continuing the momentum, Kiern was setting rapid lap times and by lap five was up into ninth place and looking to continue to progress through the field.
However, as conditions changed and the sun began to clear the water on the track, Kiern’s pace began to drop and he wasn’t able to maintain the rapid progress he had shown earlier in the race.
Crossing the finishing line ninth on the road, Kiern was later promoted to eighth place (due to post-race penalties) and added more important points to his championship tally in what was his best reverse grid race result of the season.
“The pace in the wet was really strong and we were flying our way up the order! To be honest, we could have done with it staying wet as when the track began to dry the car started to struggle. Overall though, we gained a handful of positions and more points which is key.”
Kiern Jewiss (GBR) Douglas Motorsport BRDC F3
Race Three
Starting on pole for the third and final race of the weekend at Silverstone, Kiern again got a clean getaway off the line but had to yield to the second-place starting driver who had got down the inside into Copse.
As the two fought hard for the lead of the race, the Douglas Motorsport driver was rapid through the high-speed corners but couldn’t get close enough to his rival on the straights to launch an attack into the braking zones.
Staying within a second of the race leader the entire race, Kiern eventually had to settle for second place as he crossed the finishing line half a second behind Simmons to mark his fourth trip to the podium in six races – highlighting the Douglas Motorsport driver’s strong recent run of form.
“Through the corners we were close with him but on the straights he pulled away. He was probably running less downforce than us but I was fast all through the first sector and all the corners, but as soon as we got to a straight he was able to drive away, so I just couldn’t do anything. But at the end of the day we need to sort the start, I’d done the hard bit by putting the car on pole but it’s not acceptable and I shouldn’t be losing it off the line. The starts have been very good up to this weekend and it needs to be sorted.
“The performance is there but I need to sort the easy part, it’s not acceptable from my side and needs to be sorted. My starts have cost me two victories this weekend.”
With the season finale taking place at Donington Park on the weekend of 14-15 September, Kiern is mathematically still in the championship fight and currently sits fourth in the standings – 45 points behind third-place Simmons, with just three races to go.