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The
Formula 3 Australian Drivers’ championship for the CAMS Gold Star will
go down to the wire, with the penultimate round to be held at Sydney’s
Eastern Creek Raceway on September 11-12.
For more information head to
www.formula3.com.au
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
Ben Barker (Team BRM) 161
Tom Tweedie (Team Tom Supporters Club) 159
Mitch Evans (Team BRM) 157
Zhang Shan Qi (Team BRM with PTRS Racing) 80
Ben Crighton (TanderSport) 60
For more information
on the Formula 3 Australian Drivers’ Championship visit
www.formula3.com.au
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BACK-TO-BACK BEN BARKER JUMPS TO POINTS LEAD
 BRITISH
DRIVER Ben Barker took a couple of rounds to get into the swing of
driving a Formula 3 wings and slicks racer, but lately things sure have
clicked. The Team BRM driver has rocketed to the top of the Formula 3
Australian Drivers’ Championship standings after winning an
action-packed feature race at Morgan Park Raceway.
In the midst of a season that gets more and more competitive, Barker is
the third different feature race winner from five rounds this year -
with the top three drivers now separated by just four points with two
rounds to go.
Barker won the first heat race yesterday (Saturday), finished second to
Tom Tweedie in the second and led all the way from pole in the feature,
though under intense pressure from Mitch Evans all the way.
Barker
noted after his storming win that the title race was well and truly
alive. “It’s on from here,” he said. “It took me a few rounds to get up
to speed driving a Formula 3 Car, but since Mallala it’s been brilliant.
The car is great and I’m feeling comfortable. It’s all gelling really
well.
“It’s been great to keep the ball rolling from Mallala but the battle
really begins here. At Eastern Creek it’s really going to be ‘on’”.
Barker said the pressure was mounting, with both team-mate Evans and
Tweedie proving this weekend that it’s a three-horse race for the Gold
Star. “Obviously leading the championship has been the aim all along but
now the pressure only gets more intense, just as it was today when Mitch
was chasing me down,” He said. “That pressure will only get more and
more intense so managing that will be a big part of the last two rounds.
I can’t wait.”
Mitch Evans’ second place was the culmination of a storming comeback
after a disappointing black-flag for rolling at the start yesterday.
Starting
today’s sprint race in fifth, Evans finished third before moving to
second in the feature. “It’s been a good comeback from yesterday. We
don’t want to finish second but after starting the sprint race in fifth
it’s not a bad result,” Evans said. “I was catching Ben (during the
feature) and the car came on later in the race but I couldn’t get close
enough to try a pass.”
Evans – who leaves Morgan Park holding the outright lap record
(1:09.4745) was able to take advantage of some misfortune from Tom
Tweedie after the former point’s leader’s Team Tom Dallara failed to
fire at the beginning of the formation lap.
The Sydneysider was forced to start from the rear of the field,
resulting in an action packed charge through the pack.
At 220km/hr Tweedie and Team BRM with PTRS driver Zhang Shan Qi fought a
side-by side battle through the fastest section of the new Morgan Park
circuit, banging wheels and rubbing bodywork in an aggressive fight.
The aggressive racing and subsequent contact between the pair will be
investigated by series stewards at Eastern Creek next month.
Tweedie then set out after Gilmour and the pair ran side by side for
three turns, before Tweedie had a half-spin whilst trying to take the
inside line into turn six.
Gilmour’s third place was his second podium of the weekend and his best
F3 overall result since 2006, whilst Zhang elevated himself to fourth in
the standings heading into the final two rounds.
Behind all the drama and excitement, Josh Hunt finished a quiet sixth,
whilst Ben Gersekowski rebounded from a crash yesterday – and a
non-start in the second sprint today – to finish seventh and set
competitive times in the process.
The weekend long battle between Toowoomba’s Jimmy Mann and Roman Krumins
was decided in the favour of Mann, who took his Jon Mills-owned F301 to
eighth.
BARKER
TAKES FOURTH IN A ROW WITH WARWICK WIN
IN
THE FORM OF HIS CAREER, Briton Ben Barker has won the first race
held on the extended Morgan Park raceway layout in Warwick,
Queensland on Saturday 14 August..
The Team BRM driver took advantage of a black-flag for teammate –
and then race leader – Mitch Evans on lap four - for rolling at /
prior to the start - to take a lead he would never lose and win his
fourth race in succession.
Tom Tweedie finished second after barely missing out on a front-row
qualifying position, whilst Chris Gilmour
 (pictured)
represented well for the Queensland contingent by finishing third.
With Evans recovering to fifth place, the title race is even closer
than ever with Tweedie now just five points up on Barker and Evans,
who are tied on 132 points each.
Barker received a bonus point for the fastest lap, his new outright
track record standing at 1m09.4980s.
“It was unfortunate for Mitch (to receive the black flag), and I
know how he feels because it happened to me at Phillip Island,”
Barker, who started second, said. “I had a really solid race. The
car was fantastic and I have to say a big thanks to the team because
the car feels great and running perfectly. They have done a great
job.
“In the end it was a fortunate result for me because it would have
been hard to pass Mitch, but the focus is now on making a good start
tomorrow and getting into turn one first in race two.”
Evans was left seething after the black flag, the penalty dropping
him five points from the leader; The gap was just two coming into
the race after the 16-year old Kiwi took a stunning Meguiar’s Pole
Position award.
“The car rolled a little bit when I put it into gear, but the red
light was on and I gained no advantage. The car was stopped before
the light went out,” he said. “It’s a hugely disappointing call and
it’s going to make the championship hard work from here given we
have to start from fifth tomorrow, and it’s very hard to pass here.
It’s very frustrating.”
Evans’ season-long rival Tom Tweedie was more up-beat after
extending his series lead with a strong second place. Tweedie caught
and passed Chris Gilmour early in the race and pulled away from the
Queenslander before conserving his car to the finish, ready to
attack from the front row tomorrow.
“Getting on the front row was absolutely critical for us today after
where we qualified,” Tweedie said, after starting third. We only got
the panels on the car two minutes before the start after a clutch
issue in qualifying, so it was a good result. We have the pace this
weekend to run with the BRM cars so tomorrow will be a very
interesting day.”
Zhang Shan Qi posted a mature and consistent drive to take his Team
PTRS Racing / China-sponsored Dallara to fourth, and moved to that
position in the title race as well.
Josh Hunt finished sixth after a slow start in his Rockstar / R-Tek
Dallara, whilst locals Roman Krumins (7th) and Jimmy Mann (8th)
fought a massive battle all race long, ending side-by-side as they
crossed the line.
Ben Gersekowski failed to finish after backing his Dallara into the
barriers on the exit of the final chicane just a few laps from home.
The Queensland youngster, in his first national-level race start,
had shown impressive pace and had run in the top six prior to his
miscue. The car will be repaired for tomorrow’s second sprint race.
Earlier in the day, Mitch Evans stole pole position away from his
teammate en route to a thrilling Meguiar’s Pole Position award – his
fourth of the season.
The qualifying king bested his teammate by a scant 0.04s – but even
more impressive was the fact that the top three were split by just
0.05s – the closest margin between the top three qualifiers in
series history.
pics: F3
Media Image / Craill
NINE
POINTS BETWEEN THREE AS BARKER SWEEPS MALLALA
 THREE
DRIVERS are now within eight points at the lead of the Formula 3
Australian Drivers Championship after Ben Barker swept to a convincing
victory at Mallala Raceway near Adelaide on Sunday 30 May.
It is the closest the championship has been since round one and sets up
a fascinating title battle in the second half of the year between three
drivers at the top of their game.
Barker won the second sprint race in the morning at near lap record pace
– he missed the four year old mark by just three-thousandths of a second
– before controlling a battle with Mitch Evans in the feature race to
score this third win from three starts this weekend.
The lanky Brit rocketed himself back into contention for the Gold Star
as a result of his crushing performance in South Australia, whilst the
margin at the top between leader Tom Tweedie and Mitch Evans is now a
scant three points heading into the mid-season break.
“That was the perfect weekend,” Barker said. “It’s all gone perfectly.
Phillip Island was a real downer for me so to come back like this is
fantastic after getting the penalty there. I have to thank the team for
setting up a fantastic car and thanks to my sponsor Cars Motorsport for
their support. The team has done an awesome job and car was perfect. I
feel really comfortable in the car and comfortable with the way I am
driving so I’m really looking forward to the second half of the year.”
Evans finished second and, importantly for his championship challenge,
finished ahead of season long rival Tom Tweedie who struggled throughout
after missing valuable practice time on Friday.
Mitch Evans’ toughest round of the season to date still netted him a
third and two second place results, so the 15-year-old New Zealander
wasn’t totally displeased with the result.
“It’s been an up and down weekend,” he said. “Qualifying went really
well but the driving error in race one was frustrating so to bounce back
with a solid second in the final race was good. It’s been a good weekend
for the points and the margin has really closed up so we can go into the
next round looking to close it further.”
Tweedie said he was pleased to hold onto the lead of the championship,
if only by a reduced margin.
“It’s game on,” he said of the three-way battle for the Gold Star that
has now emerged. “To come out of this round with the lead in the
championship is a good result given we struggled in the dry because we
had no track time earlier in the weekend. The experience the local teams
have here is critical and one of the reasons why we struggled, but we’re
looking ahead feeling positive.
“Tracks like Eastern Creek will be tough (for the F304 car) but Morgan
Park and Sandown will be good for us so it’s going to be a good fight.”
Zhang Shan Qi had his career-best performance this weekend at Mallala
and finished fourth in the feature, but not before waging a mighty
battle with the two R-Tek Dallara’s of Josh Burdon and Martin Short.
The trio swapped positions regularly throughout the early stages of the
feature race, Zhang eventually getting his Team BRM with PTRS Racing
Dallara clear of the two youngsters behind him.
Short finished fifth and Burdon(pictured right) sixth but
both showed impressive pace – lapping less than a second off the
championship cars pace at the front of the field for a majority of the
main event.
BRILLIANT
BARKER BREAKS THROUGH AT MALLALA
 AFTER
NARROWLY missing out on pole position, Ben Barker has returned serve to
his Team BRM team mate Mitch Evans by taking out the first sprint race
of this weekend’s fourth F3 Australian Drivers Championship round for
2010.
Barker streaked away from the field to win a chaotic 13-lap race at
Mallala Raceway today after the start was delayed due to a massive rain
shower that hit the circuit as the cars gridded up.
It was Barker’s first win in just his fourth F3 round, the 12 points
gained helping him close the buffer to series leaders Ton Tweedie and
Mitch Evans.
“My season has been up and down like a yo-yo so this is a really good
feeling to come out on top,” the 18-year-old Brit said.
“In a way I would have liked to have battled with Mitch because I had
the pace all race long. I closed in on him after the start and tried to
outbreak him, which is where he ran off. After that i had a comfortable
race and just concentrated on being consistent and fast.”
Despite holding a twenty-second buffer at the flag, Barker said he
pushed to the end to ensure he got the races fastest lap. “I had Craig
(Rundle, engineer) on the radio telling me to slow down and cruise to
the line, but I kept pushing on because I badly wanted that bonus point
for fastest lap which we got at the end.I’m feeling really comfortable
in the car at the moment. It was a good win and I’m really pleased.”
 Starting
behind the safety car, Evans leaped into the lead but was under
immediate pressure from the almost-identical Dallara of Barker from the
first lap. Running nose-to-tail, Barker made an attempt on Evans at the
turn seven hairpin on the second lap, and that’s where the race was
turned on its head.
In what was his first mistake this year, Evans ran wide on the corner
and bounced across the gravel trap, barely avoiding being bogged in the
wet sand before escaping out the other side in last place.
“I had the brake bias set a bit to much towards the front and just
couldn’t pull it up,” he said. “It’s frustrating because the car felt
good but it’s just one of those things that happens.”
He then began a charge through the field but was forced to settle for
third – narrowly behind Tom Tweedie – at the line. Tweedie had
progressed forward from fourth on the grid, passing Zhang Shan Qi for
second place mid way through the event.
“We’ll
take that,” Tweedie grinned post race. “We had a good battle with Zhang
there before I got past. I saw Mitch closing in at the end and whilst he
had a faster car I knew I could keep him behind me. He came close but I
was able to place the car where I needed to and just held him off. Given
the weekend we’ve had so far this is very good for the championship.
Hopefully tomorrow goes just as well.”
Zhang finished fourth but held a podium position for most of the race in
his best performance to date, clearly showing massive improvement in his
Team BRM with PTRS Dallara.
Martin Short continued his impressive F3 debut with fifth whilst Josh
Burdon was sixth as he continued his learning curve.
EVANS
GETS CLEAN SWEEP AS F3 BATTLE HEATS UP AT PHILLIP ISLAND
 MITCH
EVANS has survived just about everything the Formula 3 Australian
Drivers Championship could throw at him, including three-wide racing and
the rain, to take a clean sweep at Phillip Island this weekend.
Evans went from third to first in one corner in the second, 10-lap
sprint race on Sunday morning during some exciting racing to win the
race and secure pole position for the 18-lap feature.
The 15-year-old New Zealander then went on to crush the field by 10
seconds, though it took a drive-through penalty for early leader Ben
Barker (for rolling at the start) to elevate him to a lead he would
never lose.
Barker flew to an early lead and matched Evans for pace before receiving
the penalty after rolling before the green light.
Evans has now won all six races he has started this season and – despite
missing round two – sits just eight points behind championship leader
Tom Tweedie as the Gold Star approaches its half way point at Mallala in
a month’s time.
Whilst he dominated the main race intense racing in the early laps of
all three events this weekend indicate that whilst Evans has dominated,
he rivals won’t be lying down in the fight for this year’s Gold Star.
“Given we missed round two this is the weekend we were looking for,”
Evans said.
“There was some fantastic racing all weekend and we really had to work
for it. We made a big move in race two and I wasn’t sure if going three
wide into the hairpin would work – but I was able to go around the
outside and get the lead.
“The long race was good, the car was very consistent and we were able to
build a margin and be very consistent. It’s good for our championship
but I think it will be very competitive for the rest of the year.”
Tom Tweedie was in the thick of the action all weekend and espite being
shuffled from the lead to third, and then spinning, in the wet weather
sprint race this morning he was able to piece together a strong
erformance in the feature to maintain his championship lead.
At a circuit heavily favouring the F307 Dallaras, Tweedie said this
weekend was a case of ‘mission accomplished’.
“We came here with the aim of finishing in the top three in each race
and maintaining our points lead,” he said.
“We didn’t have a brilliant sprint race this (Sunday) morning but we
still have the lead and we think we will be very competitive at Mallala.
Overall it’s been a good weekend.”
Ben Crighton was another to work his way through the field to mount a
strong challenge in the main race, scoring his second podium finish in
as many rounds and lifting himself to fourth in the standings driving
his all-black TanderSport machine.
Chris Gilmour finished fourth, but was another to mix it up with the
leading group in the early laps of each race today. A locked brake early
in the feature cost him time and position, shuffling him back to sixth
before he caught and passed Kristian Lindbom at turn one to gain ground.
Lindbom was at his racy best all weekend and, whilst he lacked the raw
speed to challenge for wins this weekend, managed to get himself in the
thick of the action once again en route to fifth.
Zhang Shan Qi was the big improver of the weekend and scored a solid
sixth. Tom Drewer was seventh, surviving a spin and a flat-spotted front
tyre, to finish his first F3 weekend strongly. Roman Krumins was the
last to the flag in the main race as Graeme Holmes and Ben Barker failed
to finish.
Barker and Holmes made contact at turn four whilst the British driver
charged through the field after serving his penalty. Whilst Barker moved
down the inside, he and Holmes collected, damaging the suspension of
both cars and leaving the front-row starter a disappointed onlooker,
stranded in the hairpin grass and with no points.
All the action from round three of the Formula 3 Australian Drivers’
Championship will be broadcast on SBS Speedweek on Sunday, May 16th, at
1PM.
EVANS WINS
PHILLIP ISLAND RACE ONE AFTER EARLY DICE
 MITCH
EVANS has swept to his fourth win from four race starts in this years
Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship today at Phillip Island – but
he had to work for it.
Evans started from pole for today’s 10-lapper but was beaten off the
line by Tom Tweedie, who took the lead into turn one.
Behind them Chris Gilmour held off a fast starting Ben Barker through
turns one and two before the British driver ran wide at the Hairpin,
costing him track position but no places.
Up front Evans closed on Tweedie at the end of lap one, running
side-by-side with the championship leader into turn one before being
forced to cede the corner to his rival as they battled at 255km/hr.
Evans then got a good run out of turn two and slipped around the outside
of tweedie in a braking duel into the hairpin just moments later to take
a race lead he would never lose.
Tweedie finished second, some 5-seconds behind whilst Barker battled his
way past Gilmour on lap five and finished third – just missing out on
second place after a mistake on the penultimate lap cost him an
opportunity to tow up behind Tweedie.
Evans’ win closed him to within two points of Ben Barker for third in
the championship whilst Tweedie actually extended his margin ahead of
tomorrow’s two races.
“The track was pretty dirty and I tried to get as much heat into my
tyres as possible but I got wheel spin off the start,” Evans said after
his win.
“That was the result we were looking for coming into the weekend. We had
good car speed and I was able to get past Tom and build a lead. I
thought we would struggle for straight line speed here compared to the
’04 car but we didn’t and I was able to get the slipstream really well.
“I then got a good run out of turn two and out-braked him into the
hairpin.”
Tweedie was pleased with second and said that he had achieved one of his
aims set out prior to the weekend.
“We wanted to be in the top three here in every race, so that’s one down
– two to go,” he said.
“I got a great start and just put my head down and went for it. I was
hoping that the others would make life a bit more difficult for Mitch
but he was super quick and has a good car out of the corners, which is
where |the ‘07s are strong.
“It was a good race for us and hopefully we can go on with it tomorrow.
It’s actually extended our championship lead which is handy, but I think
it will all bunch up as the weekend goes on.”
Behind the leading quartet of Evans, Tweedie, Barker and Gilmour,
Kristian Lindbom finished a solid fifth in his Astuti Dallara.
Ben Crighton finished sixth for TanderSport however an off at turn nine
on lap one, where the all-black Dallara ran wide into the grass, cost
him an opportunity to race for the lead however the Kiwi fought hard
back through the field, charging from tenth to sixth in just six laps.
Tom Drewer, Zhang Shan Qi and Graeme Holmes fought an entertaining dice
for seventh, eighth and ninth, with all three setting personal-best laps
towards the end of the race, whilst Roman Krumins finished tenth.
Qualifying
MISSING
THE SECOND round of the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship
certainly hasn’t slowed Mitch Evans down.
The 15-year-old New Zealander has this morning crushed a strong field at
the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria to take his second
Meguiar’s F3 pole award by just over eight-tenths of a second. Evans
also took pole at Wakefield Park earlier this year – a round he went on
to dominate and win all three races.
In perfect, sunny conditions, Evans led a group of six cars to progress
to the Meguiar’s ‘Quick Six’ and backed up his practice pace with a
sub-record, 1m26.8243s lap to take the top spot.
The #4 Team BRM car was eight-tenths quicker than championship leader
Tom Tweedie, who was just 0.1 ahead of an impressive Chris Gilmour and
Ben Crighton’s TanderSport entry.
“We knew we had the pace in practice and we were able to get a clear run
and get the lap in – it’s really good!” Evans said. “I’m a bit surprised
at the margin – it’s a big gap – and I think it will be a bit closer in
the race but it’s good to be back and be on pole!”
Second-placed Tom Tweedie was pleased with his performance – but perhaps
not as delighted as Chris Gilmour was with third.
In just
his third session behind the wheel of the Gilmour Racing squad’s new
F307, Chris was competitive throughout the opening stages of Qualifying
and progressed to the Meguiar’s Quick six with little hassle. He then
jumped to third with a last-ditch lap that bumped Crighton to fourth.
“It’s really good, we’re pleased with the pace of the car and how we’re
coming to grips with the car and getting it up to speed,” he said. “I’m
looking forward to pulling off one of my customary good starts and
getting up there on the run into turn one. We’ve got the pace for a
podium at least so it should be pretty interesting, I think.”
Kristian Lindbom was fifth, but philosophical about his chances for the
weekend after an off at the start of the Meguiar’s Quick Six left him
buried in the sand trap at Siberia.
Ben Barker progressed to the shootout but failed to bank a lap after his
car suffered a broken exhaust just after leaving pit lane.
Missing out on the Quick Six was Tom Drewer, Graeme Holmes, Zhang Shan
Qi and Roman Krumins.
TWEEDIE TAKES STUNNING
TASSIE F3 SUPERPRIX
 BEFORE
THE FORMULA 3 Australian Drivers Championship came to Tasmania this
weekend, Tom Tweedie had the National Class championship, the Rookie of
the year award and several podium finishes to his F3 list of
achievements.
Now he has two race victories, the championship lead and victory in the
biggest and toughest race of the season after he today won the Tasmanian
F3 SuperPrix in stunning fashion at Symmons Plains Raceway.
After winning his first heat yesterday, Tweedie started the 30-Lap
SuperPrix from the front row before becoming involved in a mighty fight
with leader Andrew Waite, Ben Barker and Kristian Lindbom.
Using sound race craft and a straight-line speed advantage shown by his
2004-spec Dallara, Tweedie took a turn at the lead early in the race
before making a pass stick six laps from home.
From there he was never headed, winning a thriller by just a few tenths.
“This is the one we wanted, this is the one we came here to get and it
feels unreal,” Tweedie beamed. “We knew we had good straight line speed
and we just had to bide our time, make the right moves and make them
stick. The car felt awesome and the team has done a fantastic job. This
feels great – I think I could get used to it.”
With his win, Tweedie – who also set the fastest lap - jumped to a clear
lead in the Australian Drivers’ Championship as the series heads to
Phillip Island for round three in May.
“It’s nice to build a buffer in the championship before Mitch and the
Tander cars return,” he said.
“From here we plan to step it up a level. We have a new engine to go in
and we’re going to keep on pressing hard and try to maintain our margin
- though it’s going to be very tough.”
Early SuperPrix leader Andrew Waite slipped to third at the end of the
race, team-mate Ben Barker getting past within sight of the flag to
record his career best finish of second. Waite was third whilst John
Magro finished fourth.
“It’s been an up and down weekend,” Barker, the Meguiar’s pole award
winner, said.
“To recover to second place after a tough weekend is a good effort and
it’s good to be on the podium. We had good speed but not quite enough to
catch Tom as his car was so quick in a straight line – but this has been
a good result.”
The race was characterised by plenty of drafting and jostling for
position, which came to a head when a flying Kristian Lindbom – who had
again finished an outstanding, come from behind third in the second heat
race - spun at the hairpin after fighting for second with Tweedie on lap
21.
Earlier in the day Waite – who filled in for Mitch Evans this weekend –
won the second heat over Tweedie and Lindbom to record a stunning result
in just his second ever race start.
“Given two weeks ago I had never even seen an F3 car, let alone raced
one, I can’t be too disappointed with this weekend!” the 20-year-old
Kiwi said. “I slipped towards the end of the SuperPrix and we just
didn’t have the pace to go with Tweedie and Ben, though third was still
a good result. It is very nice, though, to be able to say that I have
won a F3 race after I got the second heat. That was a great race and it
felt good to win one. It’s been a fantastic weekend.”
John Magro finished fourth in the SuperPrix, whilst Tassie youngster
Josh Burdon won himself a new legion of fans when he finished fifth
place in the second R-Tek Dallara.
Zhang Shan Qi had held sixth place early however a suspected broken
Exhaust dropped him down the order towards the end of the race. Lindbom
recovered to sixth after his turn 4 spin.
The next round of the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship for the
CAMS Gold Star will be held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on
May 1-2.
TOM TWEEDIE BREAKS
THROUGH FOR MAIDEN VICTORY
10 April 2010
 THEY
SAY GOOD THINGS come to those who wait – and in the case of Sydney
driver Tom Tweedie, he’s been waiting a while.
Nineteen Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship starts had passed
without a race win for the 20-year-old but today,Saturday, in race start
number 20, he knocked his title rivals on their head with a stunning
victory at Symmons Plains raceway in a race that had just about
everything.
Starting from third, Tweedie jumped to second on lap one when pole
sitter Ben Barker slipped wide and stopped at the hairpin after battling
for the lead with teammate, Andrew Waite.
A safety car was called for the stranded Barker car – who recovered
without losing a lap – and from there on in Tweedie pressured leader
Waite for the next ten laps, never allowing the Team BRM Dallara to get
more than a one-second advantage.
Tweedie then closed for several laps before tucking into the tow and
passing the leader into turn six with just four laps to go.
It would turn out to be a decisive time to pass with a safety car called
the following lap that essentially ended the race there and then,
delivering Tweedie a thrilling victory at the last minute.
Tweedie’s triumph was the first time that a 2004-specification Dallara
had won a race outright against the newer machinery that's now the
mainstay of the F3ADC competition.
“We knew the car came on and got better and better as the race
progressed so it was a case of waiting for the right moment,” a
delighted Tweedie said post-race. “Our car comes on strong and I got a
great tow – we’ve good straight line speed – and I slipped past into the
final corner. I expected him to fight back with his grip advantage but I
held him wide and it turned out to be just the right moment. This is a
great result for our team,” he added. “It’s been a lot of hard work but
we knew we would be a chance at this track, so it’s great to take
advantage of it and get the first one. It’s good for our championship,
too.”
Waite was philosophical after scoring a second-place finish on his F3
debut. “The light rain that fell at the end caught me out a little bit
and I slowed a bit earlier for the hairpin,” he explained. “I then got a
bit wide on exit and that was all he (Tom) needed to get in my tow.
They’ve got more straight line than me so there wasn’t a huge amount I
could do, especially when the safety car came out. Not a bad start,
though, given it was my first race so I’m still pretty pleased.”
The drivers that finished in third and fourth, respectively, Kristian
Lindbom and Ben Barker, had to do it the hard way after both were forced
to work their way from the back.
Lindbom stalled at the line, but caught Barker as he recovered from his
turn-four, lap one off at the hairpin.
On the restart both charged through the field before settling into their
own battle for third place, Lindbom pulling off an audacious move around
the outside of the hairpin to take the spot on lap eight in a battle
that lasted the entire length of the back straight.
John Magro had a quiet race to finish fifth, one ahead of local lad Josh
Burdon who beat the pre-race nerves with a strong run to sixth in his
first race.
Jesse Wakeman finished seventh and Zhang Shan Qi was classified a
non-finisher after an unfortunate spin into the turn two sand trap ended
a promising day whilst running inside the top six.
Qualifying:
Barker takes first Meguirs Pole Award by 0.7secs
 He
left it to the very last minute – literally – but that wasn’t enough to
stop Ben Barker from taking his career first Formula 3 Australian
Drivers’ Championship Meguiar’s Pole Position today at Symmons Plains
Raceway.
After progressing to the ‘Fast Four’ ten-minute shootout, Barker fought
out an epic qualifying battle with teammate Andrew Waite and Tom Tweedie,
the trio at time covered by less than one-tenth of a second.
Tweedie held top spot early in the session, before a rapid Andrew Waite
lap bumped him to second.
Both looked secure in their positions before Barker, in a series of
stunning laps, first deposed Tweedie and then Waite to nab the top spot
for today’s first race – to be held over 18 laps this afternoon.
Kristian Lindbom was fourth, improving rapidly during the session to
shadow the leading trio and end up fourth, just 0.2s from pole position
in his Astuti Dallara.
Today’s efforts gave Barker his first F3 pole and front-row start as he
looks to use this round to build his championship challenge thanks to
the absence of Mitch Evans and Ben Crighton.
“It’s great to get pole position,” Barker said. “It was super close all
session and at one time I had the guys come on the radio and tell me I
was less than a tenth off, but in third place! The bonus point is handy
and it’s good to be starting at the front. It’s going to be very
competitive but this is a good start to the weekend.”
Waite was similarly pleased with second, given today was just his third
behind the wheel of an F3 car. “It’s awesome – we were so close! I’m
really enjoying it and it was a great session,” the Kiwi grinned. “There
was next to no gain on new tyres so a lot of it came down to driving as
hard as possible and getting a clean lap. I’m pleased with second
because I’ve been a bit unlucky in qualifying (in the Toyota Racing
series) before so this is great!”
Third place for Tom Tweedie represented a career-best qualifying effort
from the 20-year-old Sydney driver, who will look to utilise his
slippery F304 Dallara to draft the ‘Team Blue’ duo ahead of him in the
races this weekend.
Just missing the Meguiar’s fast four was John Magro, who will start his
R-Tek Dallara fifth. Tassie youngster Josh Burdon will go from sixth in
his first F3 start whilst Jesse Wakeman and Zhang Shan Qi will complete
the eight.
Qualifying times –
Round 2 of 8
1 Ben Barker Dallara F307 - Mercedes Benz C 51.1856
2 Andrew Waite Dallara F307 - Mercedes Benz C 51.2635 0.0779
3 Tom Tweedie Dallara F304 - Renault N 51.3594 0.1738
4 Kristian Lindbom Dallara F307 - Renault C 51.3933 0.2077
5 John Magro Dallara F304 - Spiess Opel N 52.5455 1.3599
6 Josh Burdon Dallara F304 - Spiess Opel N 53.0282 1.8426
7 Jesse Wakeman Dallara F301 - Spiess Opel N 53.3827 2.1971
8 Zhang Shan Qi Dallara F307 - Mercedes Benz C 55.2543 4.0687
EVANS
DELIVERS WITH UNDER-PRESSURE WAKEFIELD WIN
 MITCH
EVANS has swept all three races in the opening round of the 2010 Formula
3 Australian Drivers’ Championship but as usual, the stats only tell
part of the story.
It took a massive effort from the 15-year-old Kiwi this weekend to hold
off a fired-up Ben Crighton, who applied immense pressure to Evans in
each of today’s two races at Wakefield Park, near Goulburn, in New South
Wales.
Evans won the sprint race this morning and the longer 25-lap feature
this afternoon but had to drive on lap-record pace to stave off
Crighton’s TanderSport machine.
On the very edge for every lap, the pair traded quickest laps in the
feature before Evans did enough to secure the win and take an historic
100th national championship-level race victory for Adelaide’s Team BRM.
The team has 98 wins in Formula 3 at an outright and class level, and
two in Formula Ford.
“It’s been a great weekend, Ben drove so well all day and put huge
pressure on,” Evans said.
“Huge thanks to the team for their efforts, the car has been perfect and
it’s great to have been able to give them this success this weekend.
It’s a quality field and it was very tough out there so this is a very
good start to our championship.”
Crighton’s second place capped off a career best weekend for the New
Zealander, who leaves
Wakefield
Park with the outright lap record and second in the championship.
“Obviously it would have been nice to have won a race this weekend but
it’s been a good weekend overall,” he said.
“To be able to come away with the lap record is nice and we put a lot of
pressure on Mitch. The car was fantastic all weekend and the team has
done a superb job as always so thanks to TanderSport. It’s a good start
to the season.”
Whilst the leaders applied massive pressure on each other all day, the
same could be said for the dice for third; Tom Tweedie and Ben Barker
executing a 25-lap, nose-to-tail dice for third in the feature race.
 Tweedie
capped off his excellent weekend by holding on to third place, ensuring
that he finished on the podium in all three races this weekend. The
Sydneysider has also secured a top three championship position and the
National Class (for the older-model F304 Dallara’s) win this weekend.
“It’s been fantastic to be racing with the ‘07s and fighting hard all
weekend, Ben (Barker) and I had about 40-laps nose-to-tail today and it
was great fun,” Tweedie said.
“The 07s are better under brakes and through the kink, but my car had
good drive out of the corners and it was enough to hold him off. This
has been a productive start to the year and it’s obviously great to be
third overall. Thanks to the team – the car was fantastic.”
Ben Barker finished fourth today, capping off a solid Formula 3 debut
for the 18-year-old British driver.
Birthday boy John Magro was second in the National Class and fifth
overall in his R-Tek Dallara whilst Zhang Shan Qi had a solid learning
weekend in his PTRS-sponsored BRM Dallara with sixth.
 The
new three-race format was almost universally-praised this weekend with
the pair of short, 15-minute sprints producing close racing whilst the
longer feature race introduced an added element of strategy and
endurance to the round.
Round two of the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship will be held
at Launceston’s Symmons Plains Raceway on April 10-11, 2010.
Full race results are available by clicking
here
Pics Nathan Wong / F3A image
EVANS TAKES ACTION-PACKED
GOLD STAR OPENER AT WAKEFIELD PARK
 MITCH
EVANS and Ben Crighton have put on quite the show to kick off the 2010
Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship at Wakefield Park, in overcast
but dry conditions on Saturday March 6th.
Whilst Evans scored the Meguiar’s pole award in the morning, it was the
first sprint race of the season – held over 16 laps – that was the
biggest talking point of the day.
From the first lap to last, Team BRM’s Evans and TanderSport’s Crighton
drove at eleven-tenths in a tense battle for the lead that saw the
younger of the two Kiwis take the win by just one second, whilst
Crighton left with the new outright lap record.
Crighton’s new benchmark topped the five-year old mark by one-tenth of a
second to leave it at 54.56s.
Tom Tweedie finished third whilst Ben Barker scored fourth, after
spending much of the first eight laps battling fiercely with John Magro.
Barker started the race from sixth (he qualified third) after being sent
to the back of the grid post-qualifying when an errant rock smashed a
hole in the Team BRM's air box, causing it to fail tech inspection.
In his first F3 race, Barker learnt the craft of ‘wings and slicks’
racing and pulled a swift move on Magro into the final corner to leap
forward to fourth place after an entertaining battle.
Magro was fifth whilst Zhang Shan Qi continued his learning curve in his
Team BRM with PTRS Racing Dallara to score solid points in sixth.
It was an entertaining race to start the season and the new race format
implemented this year.
Earlier, it was Mitch Evans who slammed in a last-minute flier to win
the first Meguiar’s Pole award of the season.
The grinning New Zealander took home a personalised Meguiar’s jacket, a
package of sponsor’s product and a $150 cash bonus for his efforts in
the sole 25-minute session; the Quick Six shootout returns at Symmons
plains in April.
Evans posted a sub-record 54.5071s lap moments after a red flag and with
just seconds to go in the session, to take top spot ahead of fellow Kiwi
Ben Crighton – in a career best performance - and teammate Ben Barker.
Evans leads the Gold Star point’s race with 13 points, two ahead of
Crighton on 10 and Tweedie on 8.
The second sprint race will be held 11:00am, followed by the feature
race and podium at 14:00PM.
Full race results are available by clicking
here
pics: Nathan Wong / F3A image
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