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Opes Prime Team BRM Dominates F3 Season Opener |
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Monday, 04 February 2008 |
Opes Prime Team BRM has had one
of its best weekends’ in its ten year history after dominating all aspects of
the 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship season opener at Eastern
Creek.
Having entered four cars, three in the outright race for the Gold Star award and
one in the Opes Prime National Class, the three-time championship winning team
not only won the first race of the season but also won the National Class battle
as well, capping off a stunning weekend.
Only one race was contested at
Eastern Creek at the weekend as a torrential downpour before the second race
left the track flooded and was subsequently judged too dangerous after just four
laps had been completed behind the safety car. Team BRM drivers were 1st, 2nd
and third at the time the race was called.
In qualifying Nathan Caratti
qualified second for the first race before a stunning session saw him score pole
position for race two after the chequered flag had been displayed, bumping his
team-mate Earl Bamber back to second place. With Winslow qualifying third, it
became the second time in team history that they had locked out the first three
grid positions in an Australian Formula 3 championship race.
All three
championship class Team BRM cars qualified inside the top four for both races
whilst National Class entrant Lee Farrell also qualified inside the top three in
the National Class on both occasions.
Caratti made the best start of the
first race, leaping to an early lead from the front of the grid to a lead that
he would never loose. Behind him both Winslow and Bamber were able to jump into
2nd and 3rd, respectively, before Bamber was relegated back to his fourth-place
starting spot soon after.
The positions remained constant for the
following 13 laps, Caratti storming home to record a stunning victory – his
first in Formula 3 – with Winslow second and Bamber a strong fourth on his F3
debut.
In the Opes Prime National Class Lee Farrell fought rivals Chris
Gilmour and class polesitter Chris Reindler for the duration of the race and
eventually came out on top to record a strong start to his championship
campaign.
The net result sees Opes Prime Team BRM 1st, 2nd and 4th in the
outright championship and leading the National Class as well.
”It was a
stunning weekend,” Team Manager Mark Rundle enthused.
”Everything went to
plan and we’re really happy with the performances across the board. Nathan did a
fantastic job and lived up to the promise that we saw in testing before the
round, he did a great job to win the first race. James showed why he’s been
running at the front in F3 for some time with a very strong performance whilst
Earl proved that he is truly a star of the near future with a great rookie
performance.
”Lee did an awesome job in the National Class to racer his
way to the front to take the class win. It was a great weekend and the team
can’t wait for the next round – our home race at the Clipsal 500.” He said.
Team BRM will next be in action at the second round of the 2008 Kumho
Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship for the CAMS Gold Star; to be held at
the Clipsal 500 Adelaide between February 21 – 24.
James
Winslow:
“I got a good start in the race and made up a place,
which helped us to get onto the podium, and then I made another place later on
the first lap,” James Winslow said. “We had some setup problems earlier in the
weekend, but we worked through them and in the end I think we had a lot of pace.
Second is a good start; it was a real shame we couldn’t run the second race, but
we leave in second place anyway.”
Earl
Bamber:
“It was a good first round for us,” said 17 year old New
Zealander Earl Bamber. “It was my first time in a Formula 3 car so it was going
to be a little bit tough for us - but I think we did really well. I’m really
looking forward to the next round in Adelaide; it’s going to be a really
exciting circuit. I didn’t get the best of starts and dropped back a position,
but other than that the race went well. We had a lot of car pace and the crew
did an excellent job of preparing it.”
Nathan
Caratti:
“I got a good start, which put us into the lead
straight away, and after that it was all about controlling the race and I
settled into a comfortable groove,” Race winner and championship leader Nathan
Caratti said. “I’m really happy to get up for my first win and take the round
win, and with it being the first round of the season it’s the perfect start for
us. It’s really important at Eastern Creek to get into the lead, and once I did
that I never really had a problem. I only really had to worry about keeping the
car on the track and not making mistakes.”
Lee
Farrell:
“The first race was obviously a good result. It was the
first time I had been to Eastern Creek, and we got our heads around it,”
National Class winner Farrell enthused. “I made a good start and then later took
the lead, so that went well for us. 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. The crew did a great job to fix some problems we had, and I just want
to thank them for the win. It just feels really good to come to the first race
of the year and come away with the win! We should be really competitive for the
rest of the season and I look forward to it.”
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