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The closest fight for the prestigious and historic Australian Drivers Championship in years looks set to raise a level in intensity throughout this weekend’s seventh round of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship at Symmons Plains raceway in Tasmania.
Points’ leader Tim Macrow leads Charlie Hollings by just two points whilst Leanne Tander is a further nine behind.
James Winslow and Marco Mapelli still have a theoretical shot at the crown and will look for dominant performances this weekend to keep them in contention for the finale’ at Oran Park in November.
But the battle for the championship is just one small factor in this weekend’s racing with plenty at stake for teams and drivers.
The first ever Country Club Tasmania Formula 3 SuperPrix – a 30 lap finale’ to be held Sunday afternoon – looks set to be come ‘the’ race to win within the F3 championship, the victor taking a five-night holiday at the picturesque Country Club for two valued at over $2500 as part of his or her prize.
The Country Club Tasmania SuperPrix will be one of two races held at Symmons Plains, with a 24-lap opener on Sunday morning (for full championship points) also set to be hotly contested.
Country Club Tasmania will also extend their prizes to the second and third place finishers, offering accommodation packages to both to make getting on the podium in the SuperPrix race even more crucial.
The Inaugural John Bowe Trophy will also be presented to the winner and looks to be another part of the championship that drivers strive to add to their lists of successes at the end of a season.
The trophy – to be formally unveiled on Thursday– was commissioned by Formula 3 Australia particularly for the event to commemorate the retiring V8 Supercar ace’s legacy as a two-time Australian Drivers Champion from Tasmania.
”It would be nice to look back at the end of the season – championship win or not – and have the Country Club Tasmania SuperPrix and John Bowe Trophy on the records for the year,” leading driver Leanne Tander enthused.
“I’m aiming for both – there are great rewards on offer this weekend and I’m looking forward to trying to get them, and hopefully the championship lead as well!”
The tantalising prospect of setting an outright track record also hangs over the field this weekend after last year’s breathtakingly close effort missed by just a few hundredths of a second.
British driver Ben Clucas set the new F3 lap record to 50.5870s last April, a scant 4/1000s from the 1981 outright mark set by Alfredo Costanzo in a Formula 5000 open wheeler.
Warmer conditions this year, coupled with the most competitive field in series history, should give the field every chance possible to try and lower the mark.
Several of the series leading lights tested at the 2.4km Symmons Plains circuit yesterday in the hope of finding even the smallest advantage for the weekend ahead.
Whilst no times were officially recorded, two of the three main championship protagonists – Charlie Hollings (Shell / Astuti Motorsport) and Leanne Tander (Fleetcare TanderSport) – both reported a strong day at the circuit with times in the mid 50-second bracket, already close to the lap record.
Nine cars completed laps yesterday in changeable – but dry – conditions that ended in glorious sunshine.
The short nature of the lap and the depth within this years field indicates that this could be the closest round of the season to date, with a majority of the championship-class runners all reporting times within half a second of each other.
Daniel Schulz, making his second Championship class start for leading outfit Astuti Motorsport, said that the Symmons circuit was not quite as simple as it looks.
”It’s quite tricky, especially going over the flip-flop at turns one and two,” explained the Victorian.
”I’m really enjoying the circuit. I’ve had a good day testing and I’m really happy to be in the field again and competitive, too.”
Contenders Mat Sofi, Tim Macrow, James Winslow, Barton Mawer and Marco Mapelli also turned laps yesterday.
Rookie driver Samantha Reid logged her first ever laps in a Formula 3 car, quickly coming to grips with the Scud Racing Trophy Class (for ’96 – ’98 cars) entry.
Reid completed some 45 laps of the circuit and quickly lowered her times down to a comparable mark set by the car last year.
This weekend’s seventh round of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship will be held as part of the Shannons’ Nationals weekend at Symmons Plains raceway between September 1 – 2.
The event will feature the County Club Tasmania Formula 3 SuperPrix for the John Bowe Trophy.
For more information and a complete event schedule head to www.formula3.com.au
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