vd Merwe: Season has been fantastic - so far.

South African Alan van der Merwe has stamped his authority on the first half of this season's British Formula Three Championship and, after five race wins, leads the series by a impressive 64 points.

The championship is a well-weathered stepping-stone to Formula One and, in one of the most competitive seasons ever; van der Merwe has set the his stall out by becoming South Africa's most successful driver in the category.

"This season has been fantastic so far," he admitted, "My aim at the start of the season was to have a convincing points advantage over my opposition by mid-season. At this stage in the championship, we are looking good - although there are another twelve races before the series is finally decided."

van der Merwe's season began with two-second places at Donington Park in the opening rounds, which he followed up with a pair of totally dominant drives at the next meeting at Snetterton, where he was not headed all weekend.

"After our result at Donington, to go and get two wins was such a fantastic feeling, because it gave us an important early lead in the championship," he revealed.

At the next round at Croft, the 23-year old scored another win and was looking unstoppable in his hunt for the crown, but the field gradually began to gets its act together and the steam roller was slowed - if not stopped entirely - in its tracks. A week after the Croft round, the wins stopped at the notorious Knockhill circuit, although van der Merwe still scored sixteen points, finishing sixth and fourth in rounds seven and eight, as the tight Fife circuit upset the formbook.

In May, van der Merwe returned to Silverstone to tackle the grand prix circuit, but suffered from set-up issues in the opening race and finished down the order. However, he still managed to turn his weekend around, and recovered to storm to another victory for the second of the weekend's races, one he insists is his most satisfying of the season so far.

"We turned that around so well after struggling during race one," he explained, "I was more disappointed at having made the wrong decision on my set-up but, the following day, Mark, my engineer, did a great job in adjusting the car to suit the track and conditions. I had a great start and left the rest of the field behind me. That race was very important for me, because we showed that, when the chips are down, we can bounce back to be competitive again and win."

A little over twelve months ago, van der Merwe scored his first F3 triumph at the Castle Combe circuit in Wiltshire and, in early June 2003, returned to the scene of his triumph to take his Carlin Motorsport Dallara-Mugen to another.

With five wins so far this season, he now has more victories in British F3 than any other South African driver, eclipsing the achievements of Mike White in the late 1970s and, more recently, Tomas Scheckter, who drove for Paul Stewart Racing in 2001.

"The Carlin team have been great this season," van der Merwe admitted, "We've had to work really hard for these results, and to keep this advantage over my team-mates and the rest of the grid. This is my second season in British F3 with Carlin and we are working really well together. I know how the team works, I know the car, the circuits and how to get the most out of my tyres. The whole package has matured since last year and we are proving very consistent and difficult to beat."

As the season enters its second half at Oulton Park this weekend, van der Merwe's form will have to continue in the same vein if he is to lift this year's championship title, but he has already marked himself out as the man to beat.