MOTORSPORT: Dibden leads F3 Championship

Dibden claimed a third and a fourth place finish and With five races left he leads the championship by a single point.

The next two races are at Snetterton at the end of August, where Dibden won both races last season, before the final race meeting of the year at Donington in September.

Dibden showed intent at Oulton Park by qualifying for the first race on pole position, and second for race two.

Starting from pole, Dibden led the initial stages of the race from Ben Cater, but Cater found his way past on the fourth lap and Dibden harried Cater closely for a further two laps, trying to force a mistake.

However Dibden’s race plan changed when his car developed a misfire costing him valuable time. Championship rival Chris Hodgen found his way past as did Neil Harrison, relegating Dibden to fourth position.

Race two saw Dibden start from the front row of the grid, but a mistake on lap six allowed Hodgen to close and ultimately pass, dropping Dibden to third behind Cater and Hodgen.

Traffic meant that Dibden dropped back from the battle for the lead, and on the final lap a back-marker unwittingly blocked Cater allowing Hodgen to seize the opportunity and claim the win.