Douglas Motorsport returned to the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium for the fourth meeting of the 2021 BRDC British F3 Championship last weekend (23-25 July) and propelled rookie Reema Juffali into contention for a podium finish that just got away.

The team last raced in British F3 at the beautiful Ardennes circuit back in 2019 – having won at the same venue on their debut season in the championship back in 2016 – and entered off the back of a handful of exciting performances from Saudi Arabian racer Juffali.

The former British F4 driver took to the circuit for the first time on Friday afternoon for a trio of free practice sessions to learn the ropes, before jumping straight into a qualifying session late in the afternoon prior to a double helping of racing on Saturday.

Juffali ran inside the top 10 comfortably very early on before the pace grew at the sharp end in the second half of the 25-minute session, improving her pace throughout the day to beat series regular, Max Marzorati.

Typical Spa-Francorchamps weather then played its part the following day, making the opening race of the weekend a damp but drying affair with all cars opting for wet tyres. Juffali represented the Douglas charge and recovered ground early on to finish 15th by the flag in a tough contest, but knowledge gained was demonstrated in a scintillating second outing.

In drier conditions, Juffali evaded the first corner skirmishes ahead of her to climb several places, before easing her way past Donington Park race-winner Mikkel Grundtvig with a decisive move at Les Combes. Her charge continued, pulling clear once up to her final finishing position of 12th.

A reverse grid greeted drivers for the final race of the weekend at the slipstream-friendly Spa circuit, putting Juffali on the front row of the grid looking to improve on her best finish of fourth.

A superb launch when the lights went out propelled her into the early lead of the race, only falling to second as a result of giving away the slipstream to Grundtvig heading down the long Kemmel Straight for the first time.

The pace settled in however and the Douglas team could dream of gifting Juffali a maiden podium finish as she fended off her nearest rivals, but a lunge from behind at the Campus corner exit late on sent her into the tyre barriers to deny her a personal best finish of the season.

The Douglas Motorsport squad now return to the UK and head to Norwich and the Snetterton 300 circuit in two weeks’ time (7/8 August), a track at which the team tasted victory last season.

Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Douglas Motorsport scored a hard fought pair of seventh place finishes in the BRDC British F3 Championship this past weekend (10/11 July), with Dexter Patterson and Reema Juffali putting in competitive performances at Donington Park.

The Corby based squad headed into the third meeting of the season in high spirits following a great start to the campaign, with Patterson having scored a podium finish on his debut at Brands Hatch and Juffalli picking up a fourth place finish last time out at Silverstone.

Two days of official testing prior to the event gave the team the perfect opportunity to fine tune their cars set-ups before the weekend’s action, with both Patterson and Juffali showing competitive pace as they lapped Donington Park’s 2.5 mile Grand Prix layout nearly 200 times.

The experience gained stood them in good stead for qualifying on Saturday morning, with a strong showing seeing Patterson finish 10th fastest and Juffali 17th. That put them both in the thick of the action for the opening race that afternoon.

Scottish rising star Patterson made some great progress through the race, gaining a spot on the opening lap before dispatching Bart Horsten for eighth at mid-distance. A faultless defensive display from there scored him the spot on the road, before he was promoted to seventh post-race.

Juffali meanwhile enjoyed some close racing through the race as she gained a position to 16th at the finish. While the Saudi Arabian ace would sadly not reach the finish in Sunday’s two races, she showcased her huge potential with a positive run from pole position in race three.

A slow launch off the line dropped her to sixth by the end of the opening lap, but she settled into position and posted a run of impressive lap times as she held off the pack behind. As she started to close on those ahead, an unfortunate moment coming out of the Esses ended her race.

Patterson meanwhile had made more progress forward in race two to climb from tenth to seventh, and he had high hopes from eighth on the grid in race three. After losing a spot on lap one, he then went on the attack and grabbed the position back before an early safety car period.

Picking up another spot after the restart when a driver ran wide, a fantastic dive into the Melbourne hairpin then secured him sixth place. Time penalties for rivals meant he was initially classified fourth, however a penalty of his own left him 12th in the final result.

The 2021 BRDC British F3 Championship continues in two weeks’ time (24/25 July) with a trip across to mainland Europe and the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.

Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography

Douglas Motorsport enjoyed a competitive showing in the second BRDC British F3 Championship meeting of the season at Silverstone last weekend (26/27 June), with Reema Juffali’s best ever result of fourth place stealing the limelight.

Fresh from a podium finish for rookie Dexter Patterson on his maiden BRDC British F3 weekend, the Douglas squad headed to the team’s local circuit looking to ride the wave of that good form, and testing times in the build-up to the weekend hinted at more optimism.

Young Scot Patterson upped his pace throughout the four practice sessions on Thursday, finishing the day second overall in the times and again narrowly missing out on the top spot the following day with an overall effort good enough to sit inside the top three.

Entering qualifying on Saturday morning brimming with optimism, the Douglas duo both enjoyed periods inside the top five of the 20-minute session, with Juffali topping the times early on before taking the flag 16th, while Patterson climbed the order in the faster closing stages with a time good enough to put him seventh on the grid for the opening two races of the weekend.

Heading into the opening race later that afternoon, Patterson squeezed his way up into the top six after making a strong start and easing his way by Frederick Lubin and into his eventual finishing spot of sixth – just under three seconds from fourth place. Juffali showed her race craft with a string of early overtakes to move herself into 13th place early on, but was shuffled back to 14th in a feisty battle.

Patterson again battled well in the second encounter in misty conditions the following day, racing among the top 10 before contact with Bryce Aron that resulted in Patterson losing his front wing and a pitstop for a replacement. Juffali again climbed the order in the opening laps of the race, finishing 16th by the flag but with a big chance in race three.

The Saudi Arabian racer was on pole position for the third encounter of the weekend, and she stole the show with a fine display.

A great start initially meant she held onto the lead at the first corner but, despite a stern defence on the opening lap at Maggots, she was shuffled back to third in the early stages. Getting into the rhythm after being demoted to fourth before a safety car interruption, she held her own in the lead quartet on the restart and came home in a strong fourth spot to seal her best result in her rookie season.

Douglas Motorsport will be back in action in as early as two weeks’ time as the BRDC British F3 Championship next heads to Donington Park over the weekend of 10/11 July.

Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Douglas Motorsport came away with a fantastic podium finish for rookie Dexter Patterson in a topsy-turvy opening round of the 2021 BRDC British F3 Championship season at Brands Hatch.

The experienced Corby-based team kicked off their new season with a pair of new faces behind the wheel, as Saudi Arabia’s Reema Juffali and Scotsman Patterson headed the Douglas charge as they aimed to build on a fantastic 2020 season.

Wet weather plagued much of the pre-season testing at the Kent circuit, and it returned on Friday to allow the inexperienced young duo to gain vital knowledge of the changeable conditions around the world-famous Grand Prix layout in Kent.

Come the crucial 20-minute qualifying session later on Saturday morning, Patterson took the lead with a solid string of lap times to challenge for a spot in the top 10 on his debut. A tight session saw him just over a second from the front row, qualifying 14th for the first two races of the weekend. Juffali’s pace improved in the dry, taking 19th spot.

In the weekend’s opening race, both drivers remained out of trouble on a hectic opening lap to come home in improved positions. Juffali held off the attentions of fellow rookie Mikkel Grundtvig with a great defensive drive for 15th, with Patterson right in the thick of a multi-car dice which he emerged from in 13th.

Race two the following day brought new opportunities for both drivers, and Patterson showed his intent by again chasing a pack of cars at the fringe of the top 10. He closed up to the tail of practice pace-setter Christian Mansell, but in the dirty air was unable to make a lunge for that maiden top 10 finish. Juffali added more experience to her books, gaining places to grab 16th ahead of a big opportunity later in the afternoon.

That opportunity was pole position for the final reversed grid contest, with Patterson starting not much further back in sixth on the grid. The race was therefore a great chance for the rookies to challenge themselves at the head of the field.

Pole-sitter Juffali was unfortunate to be squeezed out on the start but held onto second spot before the safety car emerged for an incident behind. The Saudi Arabian driver held her own in a squabble up front on the restart, before being collected at Stirling Bend which ended her race on the spot.

Patterson meanwhile charged up into third spot through the carnage, and soon locked onto the back of the lead duo as his confidence grew. With a podium in his sights, he duly delivered and grabbed third place to cap off his debut weekend with Douglas Motorsport in style.

Douglas Motorsport next head to Silverstone next month (26/27 June) hoping to add more silverware to the collection.

Images from Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Douglas Motorsport have bolstered their driver line-up for the 2021 BRDC British F3 Championship with the signing of former world junior karting champion Dexter Patterson.

Patterson is the Corby-based team’s second confirmed driver for the upcoming campaign, with the hugely talented Scottish teenager set to embark on his second season in single-seater racing following a brilliant near decade long career in karting.

The Glasgow-born racer initially enjoyed a lot of success in domestic karting competition, including winning multiple Scottish titles, the Formula Kart Stars Super Cadet, Kart Grand Prix Mini Max and the Super One IAME Cadet British Championships.

He carried on that success when moving onto the global stage, with the crowning moment of his career to date being victory in the 2017 CIK-FIA Junior World Championship. He later added the WSK Super Masters Series OK crown to his resume.

Patterson’s impressive rise up the ranks caught the attention of the Sauber F1 team, who added him to their karting team in 2019 and have since supported his transition into car-racing as part of their driver academy.

The 17 year old impressed with a pair of fourth place finishes during a one-off debut in the UAE Formula 4 championship in January, before showing great speed and progression during a full campaign in the competitive Italian F4 series.

Patterson, who races with the backing of Advance Construction Scotland, Hodge Plant and Optical Express, has begun a pre-season testing programme with Douglas Motorsport in the 230bhp Tatuus British F3 car ahead of the new season.

The BRDC British F3 Championship is the pinnacle of the UK single-seater ladder, competing at the biggest race circuits across the country and further afield. The series is watched around the world courtesy of free live online streaming of its races and a highlights programme on ITV4. 

Douglas Motorsport have a great track record in the championship, with no less than 14 race wins and more than 60 podium finishes to their name. In both 2019 and 2020 they took drivers into the final rounds of the season in title contention.

Images from Jakob Ebrey Photography.