Lee Farrell has come away with
his first Australian Formula 3 Opes Prime National Class win, taking victory in
the only race of the day at Eastern Creek after the second race was cancelled
due to extreme weather.
Farrell began the race second in class, and after
dropping down to third later he steered his Opes Prime Team BRM Dallara F304
Opel Spiess car to victory.
“After I got into the lead I didn’t ever really feel threatened so I was able to
take it easy and it was comfortable in the end,” Farrell enthused.
The
start of the race didn’t bode well for the Irishman, initially getting passed by
Chris Gilmour and dropping him to third.
However, Farrell then passed
Chris Reindler for second, and on lap five he passed Gilmour for the lead and
never looked back.
“It just feels really good to come to the first race
of the year and come away with the win!” he said.
Chris Gilmour began in
his usual style, having an excellent getaway off the line to pass a couple of
the Kumho Tyres Championship Class cars, and running as high as fifth
overall.
Gilmour built up a small gap against his Opes Prime National
Class rivals, but he was then was struck with a leaking fuel cell with scorching
fuel spilling around his seat.
“I could feel it burning through my race
suit and it became really uncomfortable and difficult to concentrate on the race
because I was trying to lift myself up over the seat to get away from the fuel,”
Gilmour explained.
The fuel problem was caused by a loose bolt on the
fuel cell, which hadn’t been correctly tightened after a fuel pressure problem
in qualifying yesterday.
Third position fell to Chris Reindler in his
TanderSport Dallara F304 Opel Spiess after starting the race in pole
position.
Reindler got slipstreamed on the second lap by Gilmour, and
then was struck by a seatbelt problem that made it almost impossible for him to
drive.
“I got a really good start, which I was extremely happy with,
considering it was my first start in Formula 3,” Reindler said.
“Overall
I’m really happy. It was a really positive weekend for us and I’m really pleased
with what I learned about the car,” he said.
Youngster Mathew Radisich
was pleased with coming fourth in his Scud Racing Dallara F304 Spiess Opel,
while Daniel Schulz finished in fifth with James Crozier completing the Opes
Prime National Class top six.
The second scheduled race of the day was
cancelled in the afternoon after extreme weather halted proceedings, following a
start behind the safety car.
With zero visibility for the drivers in
their exposed openwheel cockpits, there was no option but to cancel the
race.
The Trophy Class was won by Andrew Mill, with Jesse Wakeman doing
well to finish in second, and John Boothman took third place.
The Kumho
Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship was won by Nathan Caratti – who took the
outright race victory, and he was followed by Opes Prime Team BRM team-mate
James Winslow, with Leanne Tander finishing in third.
Race 1 -
National Top 5
1. Lee Farrell
2. Chris Gilmour
3. Chris
Reindler
4. Mathew Radisich
5. Daniel Schulz
Championship Class: 1.
Nathan Caratti
Trophy Class: 1. Andrew Mill
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