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Super Scud Macrow, Clucas Split Eastern Creek Pole Positions |
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Sunday, 09 July 2006 |
TIM MACROW has scored his first pole position for the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship this season after a thrilling day of action at Sydney’s eastern Creek Raceway.
The stunning result – Macrow’s 4th career pole position and Scud Racing’s first in over
seven years of Formula 3 competition – came in this afternoon’s second
qualifying session held in fine conditions at the 3.9km circuit.
Earlier the 22-year-old Victorian had shaded Championship Leader Ben
Clucas in the first session, scoring a narrow second behind the
Englishman in a ferociously close outing that saw the top three
positions in the race one qualifying covered by less than a tenth of a
second.
Macrow, who since joining Scud Racing has shown revitalized pace and
confidence behind the wheel of his Dallara F301 – Spiess entry, came
into the weekend following a similarly strong run at Mallala a
fortnight ago that saw him on the podium in both races.
“This result is really, really good,” Macrow enthused this afternoon.
“We made some changes to the car in the second session and it really
paid off. I was able to find a clear lap through all the traffic and
set the time on my very last lap.
“The car seems to be really strong here. This was the one circuit that
I thought we would struggle at – based on our performance here last
year – but it’s been going very well so far.
“We are looking pretty good for tomorrow and I think we have a real shot at a good result.” He said.
Team owner Bill Maddocks, a longtime supporter of Formula 3 Racing in Australia, was equally excited about the result.
“It’s just a wonderful reward to the team and to the people in it,” Maddocks said.
“We have got the new operation working really well with my guys and the
people Tim brought into the outfit and Tim is driving with some real
confidence now that the budget worries aren’t in the front of his mind.”
Clucas – the fastest car at the Sydney circuit yesterday – scored the
race one pole and second in the race two session and will again look to
further extend his already sizable championship points lead in
tomorrow’s two races.
The bonus point the Englishman earned in race one brings him 45 points
ahead of nearest rival Michael Trimble, who scored a pair of
third-place grid results today.
“At the end of the day he (Macrow) just went round the circuit quicker than we did,” he said after the second session.
“The first qualifying result was really good but the pace just wasn’t there this afternoon.”
A pair of promising fourth-place results today came from Queenslander
Chris Gilmour, who closed the margin to the leading pair with some
strong performances in each of the two sessions.
Gilmour was just half a second from the top spot in qualifying two, the
long-time championship competitor famous for making blinding starts
looking to once again make a flying getaway tomorrow.
“I think that we have a good race car,” he said.
“Each time we are getting closer to the mark and I think I can run with the leading guys tomorrow.”
Chris Alajajian batted setup issues in his Jack Hillermans Smash
Dallara to score sixth and fifth place results respectively, whilst
Leanne Tander was consistent all day and scored the opposite positions
– fifth in Q1 and sixth in the second.
Championship class newcomer Stuart Kostera endured yet another
difficult day after yesterday’s late arrival of his new Dallara F304 –
Renault Sodemo and subsequent dramas in the practice sessions with a
faulty clutch.
The team traced the problem to oil leaking from the engine, the team
set to change the unit overnight to give the former Formula Ford
contender a shot at some laps tomorrow.
Ricky Occhipinti was the leading contender within the National Class
runners, narrowly besting Tim Berryman in both sessions today to
further extend his already commanding championship lead in the
new-for-2006 class.
Berryman closed the margin to Occhipinti today, finding over half a
second between sessions to set up a competitive National Class battle
between the pair tomorrow.
Chris Barry and John Boothman rounded out the National Field today,
whilst Andrew Mill is a late withdrawal after engine dramas aboard his
Dallara F301 forced him out of the weekend.
Graeme Holmes added a further pair of Pole positions to his 2006 Trophy
Class tally, leading Bill Maddocks and Lauren Gray today.
Tomorrow’s fifth round of the 2006 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3
Championship will be contested over two, 14-lap events tomorrow.
For more information head to www.formula3.com.au
Top 5 qualifying Results
| Pos. |
Driver |
Time |
| Qualifying 1 |
| 1 |
Ben Clucas |
1m24.32 |
| 2 |
Tim Macrow |
+.0437 |
| 3 |
Michael Trimble |
+ .0535 |
| 4 |
Chris Gilmour |
+ .7770 |
| 5 |
Leanne Tander |
+1.1530 |
| Qualifying 2 |
| 1 |
Tim Macrow |
1m24.85 |
| 2 |
Ben Clucas |
+ .2623 |
| 3 |
Michael Trimble |
+ .5301 |
| 4 |
Chris Gilmour |
+ .7922 |
| 5 |
Chris Alajajian |
+ 1.2230 |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 January 2007 )
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