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Photo: Tom Tweedie in action at Oran Park.
Image: Richard Craill Photo - Click to download
hi-res for media use |
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Photo: Tom on the podium at Oran
Park after finishing third outright in race two.
Image: Nathan Wong Photo - Click to download hi-res
for media use |
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TEAM TOM / Battery World supported
driver Tom Tweedie has found himself closer than ever before in his
quest to challenge the outright cars contesting the Formula 3 Australian
Drivers Championship.
Racing a Formula 3 car for the
first ever time at the challenging Oran Park Raceway, the 20-year-old
from Sydney’s Northern suburbs was at his most impressive best as he
came within mere fractions of the leading, latest-spec cars throughout
the weekend.
After Tom clinched the National Class title at
Queensland a week ago, Oran Park proved an ideal opportunity for Tom and
the Battery World team to chase the Gold Star cars with no pressure to
score class points.
He was inside the top four in the first
qualifying session before a few cars were able to better his time - by
fitting their dry tyres on a rapidly drying track – setting him into 6th
place on the race one grid.
But it was qualifying two where
Tweedie showed what he was truly capable of. On a dry track, on brand
new rubber saved from the first session and in perfect conditions, Tom
qualified fourth outright but less than three-tenths of a second from
pole position – and ahead of the then joint championship leader, Joey
Foster.
Sadly Tom’s F3ADC first race at Oran Park lasted little
more than 500 meters after the #19 car was involved in a turn two shunt
when Roger I’Anson and Ben Crighton came together whilst fighting for
position.
Tweedie was left stranded in the sand trap and out of
the race, but he made amends for that disappointment in race two as he
scored his second career outright race podium in the shortened 12-lap
affair.
Tom crossed the line in third place, behind only Mat Sofi
and winner Tim Macrow, to replicate his top three finish scored at the
Clipsal 500 earlier this year.
The result ensured that Tom was
able to spray the champagne on the podium in the last ever Gold star
race to be held at the historic circuit before its unfortunate
conversion into a housing estate in 2010.
“It was such a good
feeling to get onto the outright podium in race two,” Tweedie said.
“After we did it at Clipsal at the start of the season we were
keen to do it again so this is a great way to end my first, and only,
ever Formula 3 race at Oran Park. Our race pace was within a few tenths
of the leaders cars so we couldn’t have asked for more – it was a great
result!”
Tweedie said that the events earlier in the weekend had
made it a challenging F3 debut at the 2.8km circuit.
“The light
shower before qualifying one really through a wild card into the mix,”
he explained.
"I chose to go out on wets and it
definitely looked like they were the right choice on the drying
track; I was looking solid in 3rd or 4th outright until the sun
dried the track in the last 5 mins, allowing a couple of cars on slicks
to out-qualify me. That put me 6th on the grid.
“Qualifying
two was excellent though. After the dry laps we did on Friday the team
and I worked out some changes to the car that were fantastic! Qualifying
a few tenths off the outright pole was awesome - Qualifying in
front of Foster, who was sharing the lead in the series, was even
more unexpected.
“We had a lot of people from Battery World at
the track at the weekend, as well as plenty of ‘Team Tom’ members,”
Tweedie added.
“I can’t thank them enough for their support and
I’m sure they left the track as happy as I was. Next year is looking
fantastic!”
Tom Tweedie and the Battery World / Team Tom /
Tizzana Vineyards Dallara will next be in action at the final round of
the 2009 Formula 3 Australian Driver’s Championship for the CAMS Gold
Star, to be held at Melbourne’s Sandown Raceway between November 27 –
29.
For more information head to www.tomtweedie.com
ENDS |
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