|
F3's Oran Park Lap Record Under Threat As Tander Tops Round Two Test Session |
|
|
|
|
Monday, 16 April 2007 |
Leanne Tander loves Oran Park and was in impressive form in the unofficial testing session yesterday.
ORAN PARK Raceway’s four-year-old series lap record could well be obliterated when the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship for the CAMS Gold Star returns to racing next weekend at the demanding circuit in Sydney.
Pre-event testing for the second round of the championship was conducted yesterday in near perfect conditions and a number of leading competitors undercut the existing mark (1m03.97s, held by Michael Caruso since 2003) considerably.
One such driver was Leanne Tander, who scored her career first pole
position at the circuit late last season and backed up that performance
by unofficially banking the quickest time in testing yesterday.
Leanne took her Fleetcare TanderSport Dallara F304 Spiess to a best
time of 1m03.3s, over half a second quicker than her pole position lap
in qualifying in the November race at the track last year.
Coming off the back of showcasing her production car racing skills in
the recent Bathurst 12 hour, Tander is a fan of the Oran Park layout
and her pace in testing should be indicative of a strong round for the
Melbourne-based driver who originally hails from Sydney.
“Our day went pretty well and we were able to achieve most of what we wanted,” Tander, 25, said.
“On new tyres the setup of our Fleetcare TanderSport entry was very
good and we were able to set some good lap times given the track was
pretty slippery and not as good as it can be.
“I’m fairly happy with the package we have and I know that I could’ve
gone quicker on our best lap. It’s going to be a very competitive round
and I can’t wait to get there and get racing again.”
Unofficially posting the second-fastest time was British driver Charlie
Hollings, who took his Astuti Motorsport Dallara – Renault to a quick
lap of 1m03.7s on old Kumho Tyres.
Hollings – known, thanks to his recently introduced mascot, as the
British Bulldog – has been a standout performer of the first two
championship rounds and scored a pole position at the A1GP meeting at
Eastern Creek in February.
He backed that up with two race wins at the non-championship Australian
Grand Prix support events and looks a leading contender for the year
ahead.
“It was our first real test day with the team and It was good to get a day’s running under our belts,” he said.
“I had only arrived back into Australia at 8pm the previous night and
by the end of the day I was pretty tired, so we elected not to put new
rubber on. But it was a good day and I’m feeling confident about next
weekend.”
Fellow Briton James Winslow had a difficult day as his Opes Prime
supported team continues to come to grips with their ex Mansell /
Fortec Racing Dallara F304 Mugen.
His car continues to suffer from a number of niggling mechanical
problems but has shown pace recently in a competitive yet unfortunate
run at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Winslow, the 2006 Asian F3 Champion, posted a best of 1m04.2s to tie
with Sydney driver Mat Sofi and Italian youngster Marco Mapelli.
Sofi, a standout performer to date in his Sophomore Formula 3 season,
said that the test session at Oran Park was as much about getting
reacquainted with the car as it was banking hot lap times.
“It wasn’t the best day but it was good to get back in the car,” Said
Sofi of his Total Developments / R-Tek F3 Mugen-powered Dallara.
“At the end of the day we made some changes to the car and it really
came good but I ran out of laps to improve my time. My best lap of the
day came on my last one so there is certainly room for improvement.”
Mapelli survived a few minor offs’ throughout the day to complete his
second ever test day with Team BRM and will be looking to continue the
racy form he showed at the Grand Prix support events a month ago, where
he consistently finished on the podium.
The five drivers testing at Oran Park yesterday – Tander, Hollings,
Mapelli, Winslow and Sofi – will be joined by fellow leading contenders
Stuart Kostera, Tim Macrow and Chris Gilmour at next weekend as this
year’s Australian Drivers Championship continues to shapes up as one of
the most competitive yet.
The second round of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship will be contested over the April 20 – 22 weekend.
For more information check out www.formula3.com.au
|
