New NBE "a match" for F3 engine rivals

The new Formula 3 engine from British tuner Neil Brown Engineering is a serious rival to Mercedes and Volkswagen, according to NBE's Gavin Harrison.

Only British team T-Sport is running the engine this season, with drivers Spike Goddard and Alexander Toril.

Australian Goddard qualified 11th for the first race of the F3 European Championship at Silverstone, his best grid position since entering the series full time at the beginning of 2013. He finished 14th, passing several cars after pitting for a new front wing following an early incident, and set the seventh-fastest lap of the race.

Spaniard Toril, making his debut in the series, set the eighth fastest lap in the third race, with Goddard ninth fastest, yet consistently among the quickest four in the last half of the race.

Although both drivers were plagued by race incidents, rivals remarked about the strength of their engines.

Harrison said: "We're very happy. We've shown that we're competitive with the manufacturers – that's what we're trying to achieve. We just need some more customers now."

NBE was renowned in F3 through the 1990s and 2000s for its success with production-based Mugen-Honda engines.