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Samy Reid turns giant killer in 2007 F3 Finale! |
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Monday, 05 November 2007 |
Samy Reid
turned into a giant-killer at the weekend’s final round of the
Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship after taking on
and beating people in newer machinery - in just her
second F3 start.
Reid, 20, was again driving a
‘96-spec Trophy Class Dallara for Scud Racing and posted
eye-opening performances in both qualifying and the races that
upset many much more experienced drivers in later model cars.
She mixed it with the leading cars in the National
Class (for 2001-spec cars), including getting tantalisingly
close to the National Class champion in wet
conditions during qualifying.
With a performance
that opened the eyes of the paddock to her capabilities, Reid
qualified her car under half a second behind Chris Barry’s
National Class championship-winning Dallara in a difficult wet
/ dry qualifying session Saturday morning.
It was only
a last-minute lap from Barry that elevated him above Reid in a
performance that saw her out qualify all of the other National
and Trophy class cars.
Earlier in the weekend
she was just two-hundredths behind Barry in a torrentially wet
session on Friday morning.
In the dry second session
she qualified on pole for the Trophy class and again just a
few tenths behind the National Class cars.
After only
limited racing laps in her F3 debut in September, Samy
finished both races on Sunday at Oran Park and was once again
able to lift her performances to new heights.
In race
one – after setting her best lap of the weekend – she won her
first Trophy class battle and finished second of all the
Trophy / National cars – despite suffering a broken rear wing
just a few laps from home.
A race-long duel that gave
her close-quarters wings-and-slicks racing experience with
veteran Rod Anderson gave her second in class for race two and
gave every indication that should she be given the
opportunity, Samantha Reid will be a name to watch in F3
circles in the near future.
Reid said that it was a
good opportunity to show her stuff with a strong performance
at the demanding Sydney track.
”Oran Park is a
technically challenging circuit, one of the toughest in
Australia, but we had a successful test at Winton leading up
to the race and I was confident of a result in the ’96 car,”
she explained.
”The test gave me a chance to get more
confidence in the car and develop my knowledge of its setup.
It was also great to have the F3 champion Tim Macrow in the
team to give me some tips and feedback.
”I felt a
lot more comfortable in the car and was able to go better
because of it.” She said.
Reid put that added
experience to the test in the first race after a rear wing
suddenly failed with a few laps remaining.
“Towards the
end of the race the car suddenly felt like it had lost all of
its’ rear grip,” She explained.
”I was struggling to
keep the car on track and had some moments through (the high
speed) turn one. I didn’t know what was happening on track but
when I got back to parc ferme’ after the race it all made
sense.
”It felt like I was travelling at F3 speed with
the grip of a Formula Ford – so it certainly tested all the
skills I’ve learnt in both categories!” she
said.
Despite the dramas Reid set her second fastest
lap of the race on the final tour, broken wing and all.
“The chance to compete in the final two rounds
of the 2007 championship has been a great opportunity to
prepare myself for the future,” Reid added.
”My aim is
to race in the National Class next season. The prizes on offer
from Opes Prime (The champion will receive the offer of a
fully funded championship class drive in 2009) are fantastic
and the racing I have done this year in F3 has been invaluable
preparation.”
For more information about Samy Reid and
a link to the please visit www.samanthareid.com.au
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