BRAZIL'S Danilo Dirani will be looking to stretch his lead at the top of the British F3 International Series when Croft hosts rounds five and six this weekend.

With the previous rounds at Spa Francorchamps being cancelled due to bad weather, Dirani leads the championship following a double victory at Donington Park last month, while Australian Barton Mawer heads the points standings in the National class for 2004 cars.

Otley's Charlie Hollings will be gunning for victory in the National class following his pole at Spa, while Swinton's Dan Clarke lies third in the Championship in the car part-owned by Formula One star Kimi Raikonnen.

Joining in the action will be competitors in the British GT3 Championship, with Londoner Piers Masarati leading the series with Greek driver Dimitris Deverikos after the pair took victory in their Porsche in the opening round at Donington.

However, David Dove, from West Yorkshire, will be hoping to mark his return to the class in style following a career racing in the Ferrari Challenge.

There will be plenty of local interest in the support classes, which includes races in the John Cooper Mini Challenge, UK Formula Ford Championship and AVO Ginetta Championship.

Leeds driver Stewart Linn is the defending champion in the Ginetta series but had a disaster in the opening round so will be looking to make amends as he hunts down series leader Matt Nicol-Jones.

Keep an eye out too for local driver David Willoughby, from Bishop Middleham.

Barnard Castle's Andrew Bentley is in action in the Formula Ford class, as is Hexham's Linton Stutely, who also makes his debut in the series headed by Irishman Charlie Donnelly.

The John Cooper Mini Challenge will see Whitley Bay's Alan Taylor competing in the club class in the championship-winning car from last season, while Morpeth garage owner Arthur Forster heads the S class championship series following a win at Donington.

Saturday's action starts with qualifying from 9.15am with the first one-hour race for the British GT cars getting under way at 1.40pm.

Races follow for the John Cooper Mini Challenge at 3pm and AVO Ginetta Championship at 3.35 before a final qualifying session gets under way for the Formula Ford competitors at 4.10pm.

Sunday will see racing start at 12pm with the first of the British F3 International Series races over 18 laps and a further seven races for the various classes during the afternoon.

Adult admission costs £10 on Saturday and £18 on Sunday with accompanied children aged 15 years and under admitted free. Grandstand seating costs an extra £7 or a weekend ticket £28.

Published: 05/05/2005