Martin Cao takes 2014 Cooper Tires British Formula 3 title

Hong Wei ‘Martin’ Cao was crowned the first ever Chinese winner of the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 Championship at the season finale at Donington Park on Sunday.

Cao went head-to-head with his Fortec Motorsport team-mate, Matt Rao, for the 2014 title at the final round but emerged on top to join an illustrious list of former champions that includes Ayrton Senna, Rubens Barrichello and Mika Hakkinen, to name a few.

Cao won the first race of the weekend on Saturday after Rao stalled at the start but Rao made a huge comeback in Sunday’s two races, taking a pair of dominant victories. Despite his double win on Sunday, Rao finished the season just two points adrift of Cao, who sealed the championship with a final haul of 285 points.

Sarah McRoberts, Marketing Communications Manager for Cooper Tire Europe, said, “We wish to congratulate Martin Cao as the newly-crowned champion of the 2014 Cooper Tires British Formula 3 Championship.

“We would also like to send our congratulations to Matt Rao and all the Fortec Motorsport team for their outstanding performance this season, which made for a thrilling finale.”

Overall, the two Fortec drivers finished the season with a comfortable margin ahead of Double R Racing’s Camren Kaminsky, who finished third in the driver standings, with Sam MacLeod taking fourth, Li Zhi Cong fifth, Andy Chang sixth and Max Marshall seventh.

Cao is the second Asian driver to win the British Formula 3 title outright, after Takuma Sato in 2001, while the title is Fortec Motorsport’s first championship after six consecutive Carlin Motorsport titles.