Scud Racing has rebounded
brilliantly from dramas throughout the second round of the Kumho Tyres
Australian Formula 3 Championship at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide.
The
three-car team bounced back from early mechanical dramas in the race weekend, as
well as a logistical nightmare to secure parts, to bring three cars home in the
outright top ten in the second race in what was a just reward for the hard work.
After the challenging weekend the team brought home drivers inside the top four
in all three classes and all three inside the outright race top ten in the
second, 12-lap affair.
”The drams we had (on Thursday and Friday) put
the team on the back foot, but we rebounded brilliantly,” Team owner Bill
Maddocks said.
”It was a real relief to get both Mat and Justin back out
and running given the problems we had and the lengths we went to get their cars
running. I’m really proud of the team and the effort that they have put in –
this is a really ‘can-do’ team and it’s shown that we know what we’re
doing.
”The team is changing from a family-operation into a professional
team and it’s taken a massive effort from everyone. We’ve got nine weeks now
between rounds to regroup and continue the plan we have in place into the
remainder of the year."
Stuart Kostera – Scud Racing #35 Dallara
F307 Mercedes Benz
West-Australian driver Stuart Kostera
continued to get closer to the leading pack in Scud Racing’s championship-class
F307 Dallara at the Clipsal 500.
After the team took delivery of the car
just a day prior to the opening championship round, Kostera’s forward progress
was evident throughout the Clipsal weekend as the team comes to grips with the
latest-spec Formula 3 car.
Kostera qualified eighth for race one but
changes between sessions resulted in a strong fifth on the grid for race two.
With passing at a premium,
he finished the first race in the position he started but improved considerably
in the second to take home a stunning fourth-place finish.
“Given we have had no
testing up to this point I think that to be where we are is quite good,” Kostera
said.
”We were only 0.9s behind in Qualifying two and in the second race
I was able to stay with the leading group pretty comfortably, so I think we’re
making progress. I think with a couple of test days between now and Oran Park we
should be on the money.”
Mathew Radisich – Scud Racing #89
Dallara F304 Spiess Opel (National Class)
Youngster Mathew
Radisich continued to impress in his maiden full season contesting the Opes
Prime National Class for Scud Racing.
The young Victorian-based New
Zealander rebounded from a lack of track time during practice on Thursday to
score a strong podium finish in his class in Sunday’s race two.
Radisich’s engine overheated Thursday in practice two, leaving the team
to change engines overnight in a marathon effort.
He bounced back to
qualify sixth and third, respectively, before posting strong performances
throughout both races to come away with a solid points’ haul from the weekend.
’The Mouse’ now sits fourth in the Opes Prime National Class with 41
points.
”The team have done a good job this weekend to get the engine
replaced and get us back out on track,” Radisich said.
”I’m quite
pleased with our performances. I’m still getting up to speed with the car but
I’m happy to have scored a class podium here. Every time we get on track we seem
to be getting quicker so we just need to keep working on it and we’ll get
there.”
Justin Tate – Scud Racing #25 Dallara F301 Spiess Opel
(Trophy Class)
16-year-old Justin Tate rebounded brilliantly
from negligible track time to win his class and finish inside the outright top
ten at the Clipsal 500.
Engine Control Unit (ECU) problems on his #25
car left Tate with just one lap of the demanding 3.2km street circuit under his
belt before the opening qualifying session.
With no spare on hand, Scud
Racing flew one down from Queensland to fit to the car in time for the first
qualifying session to be held on Friday Morning. The effort was rewarded with
Tate scoring a class pole position for race one despite his minimal track time.
However the team was to find more dramas as the car retuned to pit lane
with bent valves and a damaged engine – leaving the team with no option but to
either withdraw or source a spare.
With a spare located in Sydney, two
Scud Racing team members set off to meet the new engine half way between
Adelaide and Sydney in order to return it to the track to fit before race one on
Saturday. After an 18 hour round trip, the two returned with the new engine at
6:30am Saturday morning, with the team working feverishly to get it installed in
time for the first race at midday.
Despite initial fears that the
replacement engine was not running correctly, Tate rewarded the team for their
dedication by finishing second in class in the first race on Saturday.
He then charged brilliantly through the field in race two to move from
23rd on the grid to 9th outright at the flag – and a clear win in the Trophy
Class.
As a result Tate now sits second in the Trophy Class after two
rounds, having logged 45 points.
”It turned out to be a pretty
successful weekend in the end,” said a relieved Tate after race two.
”The team did everything possible to get the car running and its thanks
to them that we were able to get back out on track.
”I was really pleased
where we ended up on Sunday. It was great to lap three seconds a lap faster than
before in what was a really well set up car – it felt very good.
”After
my lack of laps in practice and qualifying the races were about me getting laps
and learning the track. I’m feeling much more comfortable in the car now.” He
said.
Scud Racing will next be in
action at round three of the 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship
for the CAMS Gold Star, at Oran Park Raceway between April 25 – 27.
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