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Photo: Tom Tweedie in
action at Eastern Creek.
Image: Dirk Klynsmtith
Photo - Click to download hi-res for media use
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Photo: Tweedie at speed over
Eastern Creek's signature crest before turn four, en route to more
National class F3 success.
Image: By Dirk Klynsmith / Graphic DAK Photography -
Click to download hi-res for media use |
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HIS FIRST RACE in a Formula 3, wings-and-slicks race
car on home turf has delivered the goods for Sydney driver Tom Tweedie.
Tweedie scored every point available to him during
round five of the 2009 Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship’s
national class battle at Eastern Creek at the weekend, at the same time
mixing it up with the faster championship-class cars as he has done
regularly this season.
The 2007-specification F3 cars have a substantial aero
advantage over Tweedie’s generation-older car but the Hunters Hill-based
driver pushed himself and the car to the limit every lap, to show his
class.
The net result was not just another huge haul of class
points but a satisfying weekend driving at the absolute limit – and all
this in just his fifth ever Formula 3 round.
Tweedie qualified his Battery World / Tizzana Vineyards
/ Team Tom Dallara F304 Renault fifth outright for both races, but
comfortably on pole position for the National Class ‘race within a
race’.
“Qualifying was excellent!” said Tweedie.
“To be fastest National class car by a large margin and
to only be 1-second off the outright pole at Eastern Creek gave the
whole team great confidence going into the racing. Eastern Creek
is known as a track where the F307's have such a large aerodynamic
grip advantage so the results were very pleasing.
"To then go on to win the National Class by over
40-seconds in both races was fantastic. To be able to lap within a
second of the leaders best lap times in both races was also very
satisfying.
“The team and I worked flat out all weekend to extract
every last bit of speed we could out of the car, and there is no doubt
that we achieved that,” Tweedie added.
“We tried varied high-downforce setting to try and
match the championship cars as my earlier model car was struggling for
grip by comparison.
“Both races were relatively uneventful but I kept the
pace at 110% each and every lap in the hope that, perhaps, one of the
cars in front would make a mistake and I could be in a position to
capitalise.”
Whilst pleased with the results, Tom warned that it was
still early days as far as his F3 career was concerned.
“I must
remember that this was only my fifth race meeting in an F3 car,” he
said. “My small team and I are on an enormous learning curve and there
is more potential to come. We all can’t wait for the next round in
Queensland.”
The Eastern Creek event was the first time that Tom has
competed in his Dallara within an hour of his northern-suburbs’ home in
Sydney, the close proximity to friends and family allowing them to
support his racing at the weekend.
Tom and the entire team would like to thank sponsors
Battery World, Tizzana Vineyard and all of the ‘Team Tom’ members – with
some present to see Sunday’s two, 13-lap races.
The next round
of the Formula 3 Australian Drivers’ Championship will be held at
Queensland Raceway’s V8 Supercar round between August 21-23. Action from
the weekends’ round will be broadcast on SPEEDWEEK, only on SBS ONE,
this Sunday (July 26th) at 1pm.
Tweedie carried an onboard camera for the duration of
the event and will surely feature prominently throughout the two
races.
For more information head to www.tomtweedie.com
ENDS
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