|
[Australian F3] Wet Weather Woes For Gilmour |
|
|
|
|
Sunday, 11 June 2006 |
Wet Weather Woes For Gilmour
Following an extremely promising start to the racing weekend, Chris Gilmour and Gilmour Racing ultimately had a disappointing run in round three of the 2006 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship at Philip Island.
Having picked up a fastest time in one of the Friday practice sessions, and qualifying third for both of the races, Gilmour Racing slipped down to fifth position in trying conditions for both races.
Chris Gilmour and Gilmour Racing left Philip Island with another strong points haul, 8 points from each of the two races, and currently have a total of 45 points, putting him in sixth place in the championship standings. The team has also learnt a lot more about their new car, which they had first run at the previous race meeting in Tasmania. Despite the relatively disappointing race results, the team has displayed the speed they are capable of in coming rounds.
As the team were preparing for race one on Sunday morning, the heavens opened up in typical Melbourne fashion, and the team did not have enough time to change the cars settings to a completely full setup. However, with wet-shod tyres, the Styromax Insulation Dallara F304 took its position on third place on the grid. Placed on the wet side of the track, which is off the normal racing line, Gilmour had a good start considering the conditions, and with a cautious to minimize wheel-spin, he slotted into fourth position into the first corner. Gilmour held fourth position for much of the race, which was disrupted twice by the safety car.
On the thirteenth lap Leanne Tander got a better restart when the safety car pulled in to release the field for a last-lap dash. Tander pulled along side Gilmour's Styromax Insulation Dallara, and passed him into turn one. The pair dueled during the final lap, and Gilmour tried to slipstream pass Tander out of the final corner, but came just short, finishing less than a tenth of a second behind Tander, and picking up fifth place in the race.
|
News