Sam Bird endured a frustrating weekend on the streets of Pau during the latest rounds of the F3 Euroseries in France.
Wet weather conditions during the event played havoc with proceedings for both the F3 brigade and runners in the World Touring Car Championship, but Bird looked well set to pick his second points finish of the season in the opening race of the weekend.
As his rivals fell around him, Bird looked good to pick up a top five finish but was then caught up in an incident involving Erik Janis and Martin Plowman that forced him into retirement just a matter of laps from the finish.
"Plowman and Janis got themselves into a tangle and Martin came bouncing off the barrier into my path,” he said. “I almost managed to squeeze through but his car hit me and sent me crashing into the barrier.
“I'm very disappointed because I had good pace in tricky conditions and I was on course for a top five finish."
Having had to start race two mid-pack as a result, Bird put in a solid drive in the rain, working his way through the field to finish a creditable eleventh.
"A very tough weekend for me," he reflected. "I come away from Pau with nothing to show for it, which is very disappointing. Nevertheless I want to say a big thanks to my team who worked late into Saturday night to put my car back together for Sunday's race.
“I've had a few knock backs this year so far but it makes me even more determined for the rest of the season and I can assure those that follow and support me that I will be back with a vengeance at Norisring."
![Sam Bird - Manor Motorsport Mercedes [pic credit: F3 Euroseries Media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/447850.jpg)
