Formula BMW Europe series leader Jack Harvey picks up vital points

Bassingham race ace Jack Harvey continued his Formula BMW success at the weekend, taking another double podium result at the Hockenheim circuit to consolidate his championship lead.

After a frustrating start to the weekend, the Racing Steps Foundation driver claimed second and third-place finishes in rounds nine and 10 of the Formula BMW Europe series.

Qualifying on Friday proved to be difficult for the Fortec Motorsport driver, after a prompt change in weather during the session made it difficult to commit to a race set-up.

"It was a hard weekend," said Harvey. "The mixed conditions were a problem for us, particularly in qualifying.

"The weather changed during qualifying so we had to make quick changes to the car. Yet by the end of the session I was only two thousandths off pole but yellow flags came out, and while I backed off, like you're meant to, the others didn't and we unfortunately lost a lot of time."

These problems put Harvey second on the grid for the first race and fourth in the second, a difficult position from which to start, forcing the driver on to the slower, wet racing line.

At the start of race one, Harvey was forced to concede places going into the first corner, leaving him in fourth position. However, he swiftly moved back up to third and held this position to the finish.

The race on Sunday saw the young driver challenge harder for a better start, yet being on the wet line cost him crucial places and forced him into fourth. Over the next few laps, he put in some quick times and climbed back to second on the heels of race leader Robin Frijns.

"I managed to catch him (Frijns) in the last four laps, and I think given another lap we could have challenged for first," said Harvey.

"We had a really good, competitive weekend.

"There were some problems that were completely out of our control but the team did a phenomenal job and to have another double podium finish was fantastic."

Looking ahead to his next race this weekend in Hungary, Harvey is determined to continue his success and with only six more rounds remaining in the season he will be looking to chase the final points to secure the championship.

"Hopefully we'll be able to push for a bigger championship lead," he said.

"We had some really positive testing in Budapest earlier in the year, so I'm confident we'll be able to have some more good results and hopefully some more wins."