Driver Database News

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

Photo by Dirk Klynsmith / Graphic DAK

Like Mark Webber one week ago, Sydney driver Mathew Sofi waited until the right moment to ensure that his first win came in appropriate style.

That was the case today at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway as Sofi took his career-first Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship race win, after fifty-one attempts before today failed to bring him to the top step of the podium.

And like former F3-racer Webber, Sofi’s maiden triumph came in stunning fashion as he made a “Perfect” start from second on the grid to dominate race nine of the season, leading championship frontrunners Joey Foster and Tim Macrow to the line.

In race two, Tim Macrow made up for a slow start earlier in the day by launching perfectly to take a light-to-flag win and cut the championship lead from 20 points to just 11 with six races remaining in the 2009 season.

But it was Sofi’s win in race one that stole most of the attention today, the 23-year-old breaking his F3 winning duck in emphatic fashion.

“It’s about time, about time for sure,” Sofi beamed.

“The AmPro Tools car was perfect. Once I got the gap on the first few laps I just tried to be consistent and bring it home. It’s just great and such a relief.

“So much effort has gone into this over the last year and a half. Everyone has just worked so hard to make it happen and I knew we had as good a shot as any this weekend. Huge thanks to Sam (Astuti) and the team, they have been superb,” he said.

“Huge thanks to all my sponsors and supporters this year, and also thanks to the family for their ongoing support; I think it’s even more emotional for them than it is for me!”

Behind Sofi, Joey Foster made a rocketing start from fourth to finish second, fending off both Tim Macrow and Ben Crighton for the duration of the race, the three finishing in close company.

In race two Macrow made a perfect start and, after fending off an early challenge from Sofi’s Dallara, extended his lead to four seconds to take win number four for the season and his 11th career success.

“That (race two) was much better, right from the start,” Macrow said.

“The car was fast in race one but the start cost us track position and it’s very difficult to pass here. We knew we were fast and setting the best lap in race one proved that – so it was nice to get a good jump and go on with it in race two.

“Really, this was the ideal race for us with Joey finishing fourth – it closes the championship right up between us now.”

Foster, who started fourth for both of today’s races, stalled at the beginning of race two and was forced to work his way through the field to finish in the same position he started – scoring the quickest lap and an additional bonus point in the process.

TanderSport driver Ben Crighton was one of the stars of the race, towing up behind Mat Sofi mid-way though before pulling off a daring and on-the-edge turn one pass at 250km/hr, elevating from third to his eventual second-placed finish with one of the best moves of the year to date.

It was Crighton’s career best race result after a weekend that proved the TanderSport Dallara is now a regular contender for the top spots, all weekend long.

In the F3 National Class Tom Tweedie continued his dominating run and further extended his imposing class lead, continuing to niggle the outright frontrunners in his Battery World / Team Tom Dallara.

South Australian driver Jesse Wakeman’s weekend was ruined with fuel-pressure related problems in his Chooks Custom Graphics / Waeco R-Tek Dallara, relegating him to the back of the field in race one and to the garage mid way though race two.

Graeme Holmes and Maher Algadri finished sixth, and seventh respectively in today’s two races.

TanderSport won the Meguiar’s Best Presented award whilst Graeme Holmes won a “supporting” contingency award presented by Team Tom supporters Battery World.

The next round of the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship will be held between August 21 – 23, at Queensland Raceway with the V8 Supercar Championship Series.

For more information head to www.fomula3.com.au

Photo: With an emotional win, Mat Sofi joined the ranks of Gold Star race winners with a strong all-the-way performance in race one today. Photo by Dirk Klynsmith / F3A.

Tim Macrow has edged two points closer to the lead of the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship after taking two pole positions at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway today.

In a pair of convincing performances from the #25 Scud Racing driver, Macrow today took two bonus points and a $400 cash bonus from Pole Position sponsor Yorkshire Investments to set him up for a strong pair of races tomorrow.

It was Macrow’s fourth and fifth Yorkshire Investments Pole awards of the year, taking his career total to 14.

With points leader Joey Foster to start both races from fourth tomorrow, the 2007 Gold Star-winning Victorian had as sunny a disposition as the stunning Sydney weather this afternoon.

“We’re really happy, it’s been a fantastic day,” he said.

“The car was quick yesterday in the first practice but we were a bit worried about the times in the afternoon session – so backing up our race one pole position in the second session was key – and it worked out well.

“At this stage of the championship every point you get is absolutely critical and to start from the front here is great.

“We know that Joey will be fast in the races but it’s nice to be able to hopefully defend a lead rather than chase someone down, so two pole positions are fantastic. Now we need to get the job done tomorrow and close the points margin down some more.”

Sydney driver Mathew Sofi (#2 AmPro tools / Errea / Transwest Dallara) will start race one from second place after equaling his career-best qualifying effort in the first session today. Sofi, fourth in the championship, will start race two from third as he seeks to secure his maiden Gold Star race win.

“Second is good,” Sofi admitted, “But it’s also a bit frustrating to be second, as well. The car is good and importantly we know it’s a good, consistent, race car – so tomorrow it should be on at the front. I can’t wait.”

Kiwi Ben Crighton posted his two most convincing qualifying performances of the season yet today, securing a solid third for race one before a scintillating lap left him just two-tenths behind Tim Macrow in qualifying two and on his first ever F3 front row.

Bens’ lap was part of an entertaining second session with the top four split by just three-tenths at the end of the 20-minutes.

Foster, driving the #5 Team BRM / Driving Solutions backed Dallara, had a polar opposite day to what he’s used to with two fourth-placed efforts today.

After securing five pole position awards – including double pole efforts at Clipsal and Wakefield Park – two fourth places were an unexpected result from the Cornish driver and his Adelaide team this weekend, though only three-tenths from pole in the tight second session.

Behind the dominating four at the front, Hunters Hill (NSW) driver Tom Tweedie secured both National Class pole positions and continued to execute his aim of running with the leading bunch in qualifying today.

Tweedie was almost exactly one-second from the outright pole time in the second session at a circuit that better suits the later-model cars that have more aerodynamic grip than his 2004-specification Dallara.

“Relative to the other cars, our lap times didn’t drop off as much as them in qualifying two, which was pleasing,” Tweedie said.

“I’m really pleased. I think I got almost everything the car has to give here so it was a good day for us.”

Jesse Wakeman will start sixth in race two, but was sent to the rear for the first race after his car came in slightly underweight after qualifying one.

Maher Algadri (PHR Scuderia) and Graeme Holmes (GKH Powdercoating) were evenly matched today for seventh and eighth.

Tomorrow’s first of two, 13-lap races will be held at 10:50am with the second at 14:50pm.

For more information head to www.fomula3.com.au