BURWELL racing driver Oliver Jarvis closed the gap at the top of the All Japan F3 Championships after two top-five finishes in rounds seven and eight. The 23-year-old, driving for TOM S Toyota, picked up valuable points in the two rounds at Okayama Intern

BURWELL racing driver Oliver Jarvis closed the gap at the top of the All Japan F3 Championships after two top-five finishes in rounds seven and eight.

The 23-year-old, driving for TOM'S Toyota, picked up valuable points in the two rounds at Okayama International Circuit.

But Jarvis was disappointed that he was unable to follow up a good second place finish in round seven and had to be content with fifth in round eight.

Pre-race testing had gone well, with Jarvis topping the time sheets for all four of the Okayama test sessions.

The first qualifying session was interrupted by a red flag when Jarvis's team-mate Oshima crashed at the first corner.

With only eight minutes of qualifying remaining, the pressure was on but Jarvis responded well and qualified for second place on the grid in the first race.

The second qualifying session was also interrupted by yellow and red flags and, with his tyres deteriorating, Jarvis was robbed of pole position and had to settle for second on the grid again.

The first race of the weekend began with a head-to-head battle between Jarvis and Ishiura but, with the Burwell driver suffering from understeer, Jarvis was forced to sit back and protect second place.

The result put Jarvis at the top of the championship standings but he dropped a place after finishing fifth in round eight.

Rain caused havoc in the second race of the weekend but, after pitting for wets, Jarvis stormed to third place as he became the fastest man on the circuit.

However, as the track dried, Jarvis was passed by drivers on slick tyres and he crossed the line in fifth.

The results leave Jarvis just one point behind championship leader Roberto Streit.

Jarvis said: "It was quite a disappointing conclusion to a weekend that had started off so positively. At the moment, luck doesn't seem to be quite on our side but once again we have showed how quick we are."

He added: "I have closed the gap in the championship to just one point so the contest is really hotting up."

Rounds nine and 10 take place at Suzuka on July 7 and 8.