F3000 rookie Alan van der Merwe claims his race in Barcelona could have been more successful had he not been involved in a collision with rival driver, Jeffrey van Hooydonk.
F3000 rookie Alan van der Merwe claims his race in Barcelona could have been more successful had he not been involved in a collision with rival driver, Jeffrey van Hooydonk.
In only his second F3000 event, the South African and reigning British F3 champion was well on his way to a possible podium finish when he was involved in the crash.
Van der Merwe and van Hooydonk collided after a pitstop at the tricky Circuit de Catalunya in Barecelona.
After the race, van der Merwe accused his Belgian opponent of foul play.
“We made good progress in the race; it’s just a pity someone else can ruin a result like that with unsporting behaviour,” he raged.
Needing a new front wing van der Merwe was forced back into the pits, dropping him to twelfth place. However, team manager David Sears was pleased with the driver’s performance.
“Alan was looking set for third until six laps from the end, when Alan had a coming together with van Hooydonk,” he said. “Alan damaged his front wing, which needed replacing and put him out of the points, but he did an excellent job and I think he is going to be a frontrunner for the rest of the year.
