Team West-Tec enjoyed a weekend to remember in Estoril for rounds five and six of the 2007 Spanish Formula 3 Championship, with Christian Ebbesvik registering a double class triumph despite never having laid eyes on the circuit before.
It did not take the Norwegian long to find his feet, however, as he immediately set the third-quickest time overall in the wet in the limited testing on Friday, several seconds up on the next-fastest Copa de Espana Class B car.
Saturday morning was damp, conditions in which Ebbesvik revelled to qualify seventh outright, with Class B arch-rival Juan Manuel Polar languishing back down in 18th place. Until the very last moments, indeed, the former Formula Ford star had lay in an even more impressive third spot.
For race one the circuit was fully dry, and Ebbesvik made a great start to run sixth, a position he successfully held onto for 15 of the 16 laps. On the final tour, however, a gradually worsening long brake pedal – caused by a malfunctioning master cylinder – caught him out and allowed Gustavo Yacaman and Nil Monserrat to go by and demote him to eighth position at the flag. That result nevertheless enabled Team West-Tec to become the only Class B entrant to score points in the overall Class A Championship so far this year.
Race two on Sunday was a wet-dry affair that began under the safety car. A decision to start on slicks – like the majority of the field – would ultimately prove to be both far-sighted and correct.
Driving in a safe tenth place, Ebbesvik lapped consistently as fast as those at the front of the field on the rapidly drying track on his way to pulling out nigh-on a whole lap on the second-placed Class B runner, Xavi Barrio. Easing off dramatically over the final lap, he nevertheless had done enough to guarantee a second successive overall top ten finish, with Polar back in third.
![Christian Ebbesvik - West-Tec F3 [Pic credit: Richard Spake / Motopix]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/306362.jpg)
