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Past and Present F3 stars join forces to create a 'Team Open Wheel' for 2008 WPS Bathurst 12 Hour |
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Thursday, 07 February 2008 |
Three past and present stars of
the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship will unite as an all-open
wheel team in an attempt to win the WPS Bathurst 12 hour endurance race to be
held at Mount Panorama this weekend.
Current competitors James Winslow (Opes Prime Team BRM) and Daniel Schulz
(Astuti Motorsport) will be joined by Kiwi Andy Knight behind the wheel of a
Subaru Impreza WRX STI for Wilson Brothers Racing. The team will contest the
Sonax High Performance All Wheel Drive class as part of a two-car WBR
operation.
The trio may lack experience at the 6.213km Bathurst circuit
and in production car racing, but their impressive Open Wheel résumé’s ensure
that they will have the capabilities to run at the front of the 35-car
pack.
British driver James Winslow won the 2007 Formula V6 Asia
championship, the 2006 Asian Formula 3 Championship and last year finished
fourth in the Australian F3 championship despite missing the final round.
Last weekend he finished second in the opening round of the 2008
championship whilst also fulfilling his duties as the Rookie and Reserve driver
for Team Great Britain in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. His vast Open Wheel
experience also extends to a Champ Car World Series test for Conquest Racing
late last season.
”It’s going to be a fantastic experience – every driver
wants to race at Mount Panorama,” said Winslow.
“It will be my third
different car in the space of two weeks after driving the Formula 3 and A1GP car
last weekend at Eastern Creek. I’m looking forward to racing at Bathurst – it
looks like a great track and I’m hoping that the experience gained will help me
in V8 Supercars in the future.”
Schulz, from Ballarat in regional
Victoria, made his Formula 3 debut last season and scored several top results
and finished on the podium in the Opes Prime F3 National Class at Eastern Creek
last weekend. A background in tarmac rally gives him a solid base of information
to draw on for his inaugural endurance race.
“It’s going to be new to
most of us but we feel that we’re there to go for the victory,” Schulz
said.
”I can’t wait to get to the mountain. Everyone tells me that it’s
an amazing place to drive at so I’m really excited to have the chance. Cameron
Wilson (from Wilson Brothers Racing) called to put this together and the pieces
have fallen into place to make it a team of Open Wheel drivers. The team look to
be quite strong so I think the aim is for us to go there and challenge for the
win."
New Zealander Andy Knight completes the trio, the 21 year old
Christchurch resident having raced at the top of both the Australian Formula 3
and the domestic New Zealand Formula Toyota championship, having won the New
Zealand Grand Prix in recent seasons. A limited foray into the New Zealand
Porsche Carrera Cup ensures some ‘closed roof’ racing experience.
2006 F3
Championship Runner-up Michael Trimble will also contest the event as a direct
rival for the WBR Subaru, set to drive with Mark King and Mark Brame in a
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.
The WPS Bathurst 12 hour endurance race will
be held as part of the WPS Bathurst Motor Festival this weekend, between
February 8 – 10.
Round two of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3
championship for the CAMS Gold Star will be held at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide
between February 21 – 24.
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