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Three rounds remain this year (apart from the Gold Coast Indy300 in October), and already Piccola Scuderia's 2009 driver line-up is materializing to be the best the independent Ferrari team has ever assembled.  Blending youth and raw speed with an assertive team objective, Piccola Scuderia Corse (PSC) is now commencing a testing program to prepare its young stallions towards a major crack at next season's Australian Formula 3 Championship.

"Strategically it's best that we now focus on preparation for 2009," says team engineer Matt Thio.

"A lot of positive interest has been generated towards the team this year and we' re pushing hard to channel this into new initiatives that will add value to a driver 's career in F3 with Piccola Scuderia.  We've taken a bold approach by being responsive to financial limitations that very often prevent talented drivers from achieving the results they deserve both domestically and internationally in F3.  We'll prioritise this above purchasing a fancy truck, so in 2009 this dark horse can stretch it's legs."

PSC has nurtured five drivers new to Formula 3 this season and the striking PSC F307 Dallara has qualified on the front row six times yet the collective haul in points has proven disproportional to the team's hard work. Former PSC driver Neil McFadyen is now trailing in the hunt for the outright championship and the team have been disappointed by the results and weak starts that have diminished his series lead. Consequently, the Ferrari team remains up-beat heading into Eastern Creek, with the team promoting talented Australian Justin Tate to take over the reigns of the F307 Dallara-Mercedes - allowing him to acclimatize to what he will drive for the team in 2009. With current testing restrictions, the added race experience will heighten Justin's preparation as he focuses on areas such as technical feedback, data-analysis, sponsorship, public relations and fitness with the team.

The weekend’s race meeting at the fast Phillip Island GP circuit resulted in a mottled collection of points for the team, with Neil McFadyen finishing 5th and 4th before being penalised for making contact with the rear of fellow competitor and previous 2007 Piccola Scuderia Corse race winner - James Winslow.  In National-class Justin Tate was scintillatingly swift in his PSC F304 throughout the weekend, being over 5 seconds in the National-class lead, only for it to be curtailed by a massive engine failure with just two laps remaining. Piccola's latest rookie West Australian Ash Bettridge (F304 car 28), displayed excellent maturity amidst tricky conditions to finish within the top 10 outright in what was only his 8th ever race meeting, and his first Formula 3 race.

Team Principal Rudolf Masi commends Ash’s approach, stating:

"To hop in Australia's quickest racecars at a circuit like Phillip Island is a fine achievement and a measure of how quickly his progression has been as a driver.  We'll be working hard to preserve Ash's confidence and improve his circuit knowledge in the lead up to our home event at Eastern Creek.  Justin demonstrated an extraordinary ability to adapt in every car that he’s driven with the team in addition to cleverly pre -empting the conditions and taking full advantage of them. We didn’t get the intended points for the round, but as a team we've improved our line -up and we'll be strong for next year”

Rain again jumbled proceedings, with qualifying proving treacherous across the meandering 4.45km GP circuit.  Opting for an intermediate approach to setup due to fluctuating weather conditions, drivers had to be craftily delicate with their car control in order to bank a respectable lap-time. With grip levels changing from dangerously damp to dry conditions, Justin took control of Q2 to set a 6th fastest time outright, upending current championship contenders and almost out-qualifying his team mate – Neil McFadyen who qualified back in 5th position. The young 17 year-old Victorian then passed 4 cars around the first two corners of Race 1, settling into a rhythm before the appearance of a safety car to remove the stricken F307 of James Winslow from the Turn 4 gravel-trap. PSC's Ash Bettridge had also gained two spots before the safety car period but really stormed through on the restart, passing six cars on debut for the Piccola Scuderia team in his red National-class F304 Dallara.

Behind the scenes, Piccola Scuderia have acquired some experienced hands - both Mick Caruso and Gary Simkin were able to help give valuable assistance both to the drivers and the team throughout the weekend. Mick and Gary were instrumental in clinching the 2003 Australian Formula 3 Championship with former PSC driver Michael Caruso, and Gary possesses a working knowledge of Hewland racing gearboxes that is unsurpassed in Australian F3.   Piccola Scuderia Engineer Joe Sasso is also currently working with an F1 team in extracting further benefits from a patent he has developed relating to the Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) which are being introduced through next year's FIA Formula One Regulations. Without revealing too much detail, the KERS system being discussed presents great flexibility over some of the other ideas so far outlined in the public domain. To add to this, PSC mechanic Stuart Brown has been offered a position later this year with Prodrive GB to work on their Aston Martin Racing programs, further illustrating a healthy development structure for the team members.

The Formula 3 category is growing rapidly, with recent support from the Australian Motor Sport Foundation (AMSF) - an organisation that shares many synergies with the team.  Piccola Scuderia hopes to liaise closely with AMSF and CAMS in the coming months to help further contribute towards programs designed to benefit young Australian drivers.

The entire PSC team is de finitely working hard on the very detail that will be their success.

For more information about Piccola Scuderia please visit: www.piccola.com.au